Kidnapped
by Hawaiianbabidoll
Summary: Kyoto was great but the crow was not the only star. In an expensive white gown, a certain little fang king had caught the attention of a greedy group. Will he be their next target or will he prove to be too much to handle? Sorry about the short start
1. The Angel's Wedding Dress

**The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them. **

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* * *

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"Tsk….shit. You'd think that prick would have gotten us more than this measly pile of pennies" grumbled an angry man as he knocked over a pile of much more value than mere pennies. Another man seemed to agree with his companion though.

"Boss ain't gonna approve if we don't find something really worth selling." He said as he sat down on a plush couch. Some of the other people that lined the edges of the wall stared at the man like he was crazy…. But the owner of the residence didn't seem to mind the man sitting on her furniture.

"Well I think I may just have your answer" said the woman as she walked over to her couch after gazing out the window. "Gio, I think your next target is right outside" She purred as she sat on the man's lap. The one called Gio glanced towards the window and some of the others peeked out as well.

"Well, it's okay. I wanted to do it too"

"Thank you very much! It was more expensive than I thought!"

Expensive? Yes it would be. That costume shop was far from cheap….yet that blue haired kid just went and bought three….no….apparently four of their finest outfits. The people in the room smiled as their eyes locked on the child in the winged white gown.

* * *

"Bite me you fucking crow," growled an irritated young boy. His blue hair and eye patch secured over his left eye were a too familiar sight to the one claimed to be the next sky king. Despite being part of the same team, getting Agito to actually practice with the rest of Kogarasumaru was one of the toughest challenges Ikki had to deal with. The only time Agito ever took them seriously was when the shark himself was going to benefit from it….or if they really begged.

"Bad choice of words!" barked Ikki as he launched himself at the kid, teeth bared in pacman style. Agito stared at him in horror.

'Heh. Silly Agito…. You know, it wouldn't be the first time he'd have bitten you. Don't you remember the time you fought after the battle with the Kintetsu Bulls?' came a sweet voice from inside Agito's head. Agito cursed as he jumped to dodge the crow. Jeez…. And people called HIM psycho.

"KEEP YOUR FUCKING DISGUSTING MOUTH AWAY FROM ME!" howled the now disgusted AND irritated shark. Sure enough, that yell brought on quite a few confused and appalled stares from innocent people passing by, but the storm riders didn't seem to notice. Ikki laughed. Well, at least he got Agito to actually move instead of sleeping on the sidelines like he usually did.

Agito let out another curse as the wind blew through his hair. He landed on the ground with the skill of a master AT rider. The angered storm rider turned to send a deadly glare at the black haired crow. Ikki pretended to pout and pointed out that Agito had asked him to do it. Kazu, the blonde boy with the hat obsession, chuckled out loud. That was all it took to send the shark's steely glare in his direction.

"And what the fuck are you laughing at you shitty bean lamp post?" He growled like the animal he was. Kazu immediately shut his mouth and backed up on his air treks. Agito would never tell him how professionally fast he did so.

"N-nothin! Just…." Kazu seemed to just realize what Agito had called him. "Bean lamp post?" He cried out in shame. Agito rolled his eye. It wasn't like it was the first time he had insulted the moron.

"The distraction worked. Now, you practice," spoke a creepy voice from beside the blue haired rider. Agito's head whipped around to find the crow staring at him with an evil glint in his eye. His surprise didn't last long and he immediately went to insult the ass.

"Stop claiming everything that happens went as you fucking planned" He barked getting in the leader of the team's face. Again the shark failed to notice something. Ikki did not come empty handed and was holding some foul smelling blended mulch. He was smiling evilly, a smile that usually only Agito himself wore.

"Seeing as you didn't run in the last practice race, you automatically lose….and you know the penalty for coming in last" chimed the crow. Out of nowhere, the other members of Kogarasumaru were beside Ikki sharing his grin.

Agito took a step back. "Keep that SHIT away from me you fucktards!" He yelled. To his step back, the team took one step forward.

"FUCK"

Agito turned and ran for it.

* * *

As night fell, the town quieted. Team Kogarasumaru would have known if a new AT team had come onto their territory. They would have been prepared to fight a threat like that. AT was their sport…..but they were not going to be ready for the latest storm that threatened them.

A smile crept across the face of a man as he looked out over the sleeping city. At last, they had tracked her here. Her fine silk gown and tiara, the mark of the wealthy for sure.

The man pulled off a pair of goggle from his eyes, letting them rest on his messy brown hair. Soon another man dressed in black leather joined him on the rooftop.

"Gio, it was confirmed by our sources that a young blue haired child with an eye patch attends school in this area."

The man was actually a bit pissed he had to report to Gio. He had been a part of this organization a lot longer than this prick.

Another man looked over at the two. "How can you be sure that's the one we want?" He asked. Gio smirked. "Seriously, how many blue haired kids with eye patches do you see walking around? It has to be her," he said with confidence. He returned his gaze to the city.

He smiled once again as he thought how spoiled rotten the girl probably was. If she could afford to so readily get those costumes on a whim, her parents had to have quite a bit of money.

"Alright men…. Tomorrow we will take her. We will capture the girl who wore the angel's wedding dress"

* * *

**Kit:: Alright, that's it for part 1. My first fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Agito:: You shit head, this story of yours sucks. Seriously, I AM NOT A FUCKING GIRL!**

**Kit:: Now now sharky, calm yourself. I'm sure they will realize their mistake….eventually.**

**Agito:: … bitch**

**Kit:: Anyway, readers I hope you stay tuned to find out what happens next.**

**Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**EDIT:: Akito just wants me to mention that this chapter is also posted on my Deviantart page with a preview image just in case you wanted to see how pretty he was in Kyoto.**

**My DA is linked as my homepage.**


	2. Princess Plectella

**The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them. **

* * *

Agito stared at the blackboard. His face held a mixture of disgust, horror, and shock. He shouted profanities, screamed, kicked, prepared to kill everyone in the room.

Damn he wished he was in control right now.

Akito, thankfully, did not share his counterpart's disgust for what he had just discovered. He was actually excited and perfectly willing to accept his role in the event.

* * *

School had started about an hour ago, but Akito had been late getting to his class. He had gotten in trouble by one of the teachers about a fight that had broken out in the cafeteria the other day.

The teacher couldn't understand how such a usually sweet child could act so incredibly unruly. Akito wasn't going to tell him that Agito was the one that had started that food fight. Agito smirked in the back of Akito's mind. He was still proud of the magnificent disaster. The crow had it coming.

Akito sighed as he was scolded, apologizing for his behavior and promising to help with the cleaning. He offered that service all on his own, much to the surprise of the teacher. Again the teacher was stumped as to how such a good kid would do something like that. He concluded Akito had to have been put up to it by someone else, although Akito denied that and claimed it was just him and nobody else. Eventually the blue haired student was let off with a warning and cleaning duty.

When he entered his classroom, instead of seeing the usual sight of drooling boys, annoyed girls, and a flustered teacher, the room was buzzing with activity. The desks were pushed aside, decorations were starting to pile in the corner, and the students were all standing in groups talking. Akito heard a few stray words about a school festival and their class's role this year, but he was distracted by the board. It was covered in names and tallies, titles and descriptions. He had walked over to it curiously, spotting his own name scribbled down on the board. Under it was quite a few tally marks, easily the majority. He was confused by this at first, but at last he was spotted and a loud "Congratulations!" chimed from onigiri, the perverted shorty of team Kogarasumaru. Soon enough Beanie Blondie and Crow were leaning on his shoulder with strange smiles on their faces. Clearly Akito had missed something important, and it couldn't be good.

"Hey Akito, you've won the starring role! How do ya feel?" chimed Ikki as he leaned in and laughed. Akito merely clapped his hands together, deciding to bring himself into the excitement.

"Starring role? What do you mean Ikki-kun?" He asked. Kazu pointed to the board and brought Akito's attention to the largest letters.

"The Caged Bird's Dance. It's the play our class is going to put on for the school festival this year," explained Kazu.

"And you get to play the role of Plectella, the caged bird" Ikki decided to pick up where Kazu left off, his grin baffling Akito.

"I've never heard of this story" Replied Akito. Ikki's smile dropped as he looked at him. No wonder he wasn't getting a reaction from the kid.

"You've never heard of it?"

"Aww, you must have been so deprived as a kid!"

"Don't worry Akito, we'll explain the story to you!"

The group of boys was suddenly surrounded by the girls in the room. They were fawning over Akito as he thanked them and sent them heartwarming smiles. Kazu and Ikki glanced at each other, their grins returned. "Part of me wants Agito to be the one out when they tell him the story" Whispered Kazu. Ikki nodded, but he wouldn't have been able to reach Akito's eye patch now anyway. The girls had him completely surrounded and blocked the way to their littlest team mate. It was story time.

* * *

The story goes that a king lived in a grand castle, perched on a cliff by the sea where he could watch over his city from above. The king kept order in his land and under his rule the city survived in peace. The problem with this king was that he believed he always knew what was for the best. He didn't listen to the opinions of others without making a fuss, and eventually people just stopped trying to oppose him. Though the king was a stubborn and strict man, he was not a cold and cruel man. He often invited his people as well as foreign royalty to his palace for feasts and dances. This was also the only chance anyone ever had of spotting the king's most valuable treasure. His daughter.

Plectella was the princess of the castle, the only heir to the throne. The king was incredibly over protective of his little bird, never letting her leave the walls of the castle since her mother died when she was a baby. The king wanted to keep her close to him so he would never lose her. She was after all, a beautiful girl who could dance like an angel. She was the reason the city loved to come to the king's feasts. When Plectella danced, it was as if she had wings and was flying through the sky. During one of the princess's dances, she caught the eye of a young prince named Asper who fell in love as he watched her dance. He meets her in secret during his stay in the country and he tells her of the world outside the castle. She becomes fascinated by the sights she had never seen, but her father refused to let her even take a look outside let alone a step. No matter how much she pleaded, the king just grew angry with her and increased the restrictions on the princess.

So the prince decided he would steal the king's treasure and free her from her cage.

* * *

As the girls continued to explain the story of love between Plectella and Asper, Akito listened with curiosity. The prince and the princess went through many hardships before they finally managed to escape from the king, but eventually Asper was able to get Plectella to see the sky and the sea for the first time. To feel the wind on her skin and the sun on her face. Akito liked this story, but it was Agito who realized exactly why Ikki Kazu and Onigiri were giggling.

Finally Akito understood why Agito was so angry.

"Wait a minute. If I'm playing Plectella….then I'm playing…." He started. Ikki forced himself into the crowd of smiling girls to give his triumphant bark.

"A GIRL! Yes, you're playing the princess!" He said with a full laugh. The girls looked at Akito nervously, trying to read the kid's expression. Akito's face was blank for a moment, then spread into his familiar warm grin.

"Can Ikki be my prince?" Akito asked with a joyous smile. Ikki immediately stopped his snickering and stared at the blue haired boy with a stunned "huh?" The girls loved the idea, which only made the crow's face drop. Now Kazu and Onigiri couldn't suppress their boisterous laughter.

Ringo was completely against the idea though.  
"Whoa whoa whoa. First off, wouldn't it be better to say, I dunno…. Have a GIRL play the princess?" She immediately stated, trying to bring some order to this madhouse. No way were Akito and Ikki going to be playing the main couple in the play. If anything, it should have been HER and Ikki. Emily, a girl with short dark brown hair who harbored a deep crush on Kazu, placed a hand on ringo's shoulder to calm her.

"Like they said. It was like she was flying through the sky as freely as a bird….or swimming in the sea as freely as a fish," she started to explain, using a different type of metaphor to get the point across. Another girl joined in the explanation.

"The reason we picked Akito is because he can ride ATs really well AND he's downright adorable!" She chimed. The dots in Ringo's head were starting to connect to form a picture. They picked Akito because they planned on having him use his air treks during the play. They picked him because he was the only experienced rider in class who was feminine enough to pull off being the princess. Well, as far as they knew anyway. When she tried to argue against Ikki playing the prince, she had nothing she could use. The girls agreed it was going to be either Ikki or Kazu, and they had allowed Akito to have his pick. Besides, they had it in their heads that Akito and Ikki were secret lovers anyway. Creepy sickos.

Ringo retired to the corner of the room, seething. She was giving off a terrifying aura…. But she knew she couldn't possibly play the role of the princess. It was moments like this when the red head wished she wasn't the secret successor of the Sleeping Forest.

* * *

"Do we….really have to practice in costume on the FIRST day?" grumbled Ikki as he fumbled with the fancy tailcoat his fellow students had picked out for him. The coat itself was a dark navy blue with silver trimmings and buttons. The real kicker was by far the black tights they had forced him to put on. He didn't have to wear the undershirt with the weird frills that had also been set out for him because it was too small. He thanked god for that one, but he had a feeling he'd be seeing that monstrosity again. Ikki's best friend Kazu brought over the black boots that went with the costume.

"Dude, you look …. " He looked away laughing. Akito was happily able to give his own ending to Kazu's sentence though.

"You look adorable Ikki-kun!" chimed the familiar little blue haired child as he hugged Ikki's arm. Ikki shook at the sound of a boy calling him adorable. It was wrong on so many levels. He turned to tell Akito this and was caught off guard by his getup. Akito looked up at Ikki with a smile. He was wearing a light blue and white dress with open shoulders, a frilly chest, tight waist, and a bit of a baggy bottom. The most stunning thing on the dress was the elaborate silver tipped feather decorations that made up the bottom. Ikki tried to pry Akito's grip off of his arm but geez, it was like he was glued on. He was silently singing inside when the girls called Akito over so they could see how he looked in his costume.

Ikki let out a grateful sigh and leaned against the wall beside Kazu. He smirked. "Well, at least we don't have to wear a dress…." He said. Kazu returned the smirk.

"Yeah, but I don't think Akito minds it at all. Hell, I'd say he actually likes it," he replied, "but man, I can just picture Agito throwing a fit. Hey, he'll have to perform too since he's the one that can ride." Ikki and Kazu both laughed at the image of Agito acting like a princess, dancing on his ATs in front of an audience. Soon enough the little princess in the room was racing back over to his prince. "Hey Ikki-kun. They want to see if we can ride in costume!" announced Akito before he reached his hand up to switch control to his darker personality. As soon as Agito was in control, he sent a death glare at the two boys as if daring them to say anything. Unfortunately Kazu did.

"Hey sharky. Nice dress. It suits you" He said with a smirk. Ikki had to hold the irate shark back when he went to punch Kazu in the face.

"Fuck you bean post" He spat. Agito then looked Kazu up and down, taking in his costume. He smirked when he realized what Kazu was, though Ikki wasn't quite sure what Kazu was supposed to be in that black swallowtail coat and white gloves. Kazu caught Ikki's stare and looked down in shame.

"I'm butler number 3" He mumbled. Agito took this chance to laugh at him.

"Damn, even on stage you're a no name loser." He chanted, causing the blonde to join Ringo in the corner of self pity.

"Let go of me dumbass" Agito said as he pulled his arms free from the crow. "I'm only gonna do this shit because Akito wants me to" He added, defending himself despite the fact nobody had said anything.

Ikki didn't waste the chance to respond. "Whatever you say….Princess Plectella"

* * *

**Kit: Alright, end of phase 2. Don't worry, Plot will come to light soon.  
Oh, hey there Agito! What did you think of this latest development?**

**Agito: ….. *twitch* you. You are so fucking dead.**

**Kit: It's okay princess, you'll be fabulous on stage. I'm even going to draw your dress and put it on Deviant art. Look, see, I even made it all pretty and feathery because you're supposed to be a bird! Hah.**

**Agito: …..**

**-insert violent blood bath here-**


	3. Abduction

**The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them.  
**

* * *

A blue haired child was walking outside wearing a long flowing dress with a bottom made of feathers. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to care for the dress. Her face looked rather annoyed and irritated… but then, it had always been difficult to please the wealthy hadn't it?

A man in black leather pants with a matching leather coat leaned back. He held up the pair of binoculars he had been using to another man standing beside him. Gio took them and peered through to get a closer look at the school. He grinned.

"There she is…. With another fancy dress. Look at 'em…the lot of them are wearing some fancy shit. She's even got a butler at school." He said as he lowered the binoculars. He tossed them back to his partner, who was lying down and using his arms as a makeshift pillow on the empty rooftop. The binoculars landed with a thud on his gut which earned Gio a nice little glare from a pair of hazel eyes. The guy in leather sighed, pulling his hand through his short reddish blond hair.

"Ya know…. My older brother hates you." He said with a yawn as he returned his arm back to its position behind his head. Gio only chuckled at the news.

"He's just jealous I'm higher ranked then him now" He said with an arrogant sigh. He smirked at his partner. "By the way Kirin… you steal that outfit of yours from him? Seriously, skin tight leather pants and a jacket with a furry hood? People are gonna question your sexuality" He said with a laugh. Kirin immediately sat up and chucked the binoculars at Gio's head, a blush just starting to form on his face.

"Shut up and do your job" He muttered, pulling up the hood so the brown furry trim would hide his embarrassment. Gio smiled at his friend, catching the binoculars and walking over to Kirin. He patted him on the shoulder, only to be shaken off.

"Come on. Let's go report in" He said as a reluctant Kirin stood up and followed. He made sure to punch Gio lightly on the arm as he passed him. 

* * *

Agito stomped outside, grumbling every step of the way. Ikki and Kazu were the next to follow him out and before long the entire cast had stepped into the sunlight. Dresses and suits were everywhere thanks to the class representative being so insistent they tried on their costumes today. Agito crossed his arms, wearing his too familiar scowl. He felt a chill run down his spine and he turned to look off into the distance.

'_What's the matter Agito?'_ came a familiar voice. The voice that was partially to blame for Agito's current agitation. He just HAD to say yes.

"Nothing's wrong… I just…feel like we're being watched" he replied quietly to his other self as his uncovered eye continued to scan the buildings in the distance. He went stiff when a hand slapped him on the shoulder. Ikki only received the shark's notorious glare in return for the crow's ridiculous smile.

"Come on sharky. If I'm going through this torture, you're going through it with me" He chirped as he grabbed Agito's arm and led him to the spot the stage crew had set up. It wasn't exactly the best stage….the props currently consisted of cardboard boxes, sticks, and a few poles. The crew insisted it was just for today and that they would have real props ready by the time they performed. Agito groaned. He so wasn't in the mood for this. Well, on the bright side, at least the strange feeling he had was finally gone. Maybe it had just been his imagination. He was probably being paranoid.

With that thought, the 'princess' gave his attention to his classmates. 

* * *

"Fuck! Dammit you stupid crow, is it really that hard to spin and land without waving your arms around like a damn monkey?" barked the blue haired wonder. Agito was so sick and tired of doing this stupid scene. Naturally the fang king, master AT rider that he was, easily pulled off the preschool level tricks his classmates asked him to perform. His …ugh he didn't even want to say it…. 'partner' however couldn't seem to even get half way through the performance. His hands had balled into fists as Ikki once again leapt into the air, performed a sloppy spin, then either missed the post he was supposed to land on, fell off said post, or just plain crashed. Seriously, the post was a whole two inches in diameter! Agito rolled his eyes. Two inches was plenty of room. He could land on it blindfolded! Shit, he pretty much did. With the stupid feathers waving around from his stupid dress, he could barely see where the hell he was landing. He had still landed perfectly almost every time. The first jump was an exception, and it was only because the sun was in his eyes that he missed his mark.

Sure. He'd go with that.

He sighed, hopping down from the post as Ikki crashed into the pole instead of landing on top of it. If this was just the first AT scene with Ikki, he wasn't sure they were going to make it to the end of the script. At this rate they would be lucky if Ikki didn't break his neck trying…. or if Agito didn't break it for him just so they could move on. Wait…that would be counterproductive. They would have to get a new guy to play the prince….probably Kazu. The young fang king peeked in the direction of butler number three. Apparently balancing was not his forte because he dropped the stacked plastic cups all over the ground. Then again, those fancy champagne glasses weren't always the easiest to balance, especially when they were stacked in that pyramid shape rich people always demanded they be stacked in.

No. He was giving the bean post too much credit.

He would stick to his usual analysis – Kazu just sucked. 

* * *

Gio let out a nice long yawn as he leaned against the wall in a poorly lit pool hall. He watched as a game of pool went underway, one man clearly dominating the game. With that final shot, the 8 ball sank and the game was done. Gio stood up and walked over.

"Geez Kirin…. You know, you could make a fortune if you would just get off your high horse and become a pool hustler." Kirin rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. That's a downright dirty thing to do. I'm not going to stoop to such pathetic deception." Replied the young leather clad man as he brushed his strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes. The reply only made Gio burst out laughing. Gio leaned on Kirin's shoulder, getting close enough that he wouldn't be overheard by the other ingrates loitering around the pool hall.

"A gang member with no qualms about kidnapping, but won't hustle pool because it goes against his morals." He snickered before laughing again at the ridiculousness of the idea. The only thing that stopped his laughter was a call from the back room. "Come on. Looks like the boss man wants a word." With that, Gio headed towards the back with Kirin at his heels.

The duo sat down beside another man wearing familiar black leather. Gio grinned as he glanced at him. "Nian…" he nodded in greeting only to receive a nasty glare in return.

"Fuck off" came Nian's venomous reply. Gio chuckled at Nian's blatant hostility. He'd been that way ever since Gio was promoted past him. Kirin was right…. Nian DID hate him. His chuckling only made Kirin's brother more irritated, but their boss didn't give him the chance to speak.

"Enough" came a strong voice from behind a translucent curtain. What was with that anyway? Was it ingrained in a leader's head that they had to have their form concealed behind something? Kirin personally found it annoying and harder to trust someone who didn't show his face that often, but Gio trusted their boss. He had seen him face to face. If Gio trusted him, so would Kirin.

The three men kneeled before their boss, Kirin between Gio and his brother, just in case the two got any ideas. He peeked up towards the curtain, watching the silhouette of a man sitting in a large chair. Another shadow stood beside him…well, more than beside him. It was like the shadow had a leg up on the chair with him. The second shadow was clearly feminine in shape, and when Kirin thought feminine, it wasn't just thin frame and skinny legs. Whoever was behind that curtain with their boss was a full-fledged knock out, and he could tell that JUST from a shadow. He glanced towards Gio and smirked despite himself. Gio had clearly seen the shadow too and the look of jealousy in his eyes was hilarious.

"… I take it you have already found the point at which the target is most vulnerable?" That voice was enough to clear the room of any stray thoughts and the faces of the three men shared a look of calm respect.

"Apparently she walks home after school. We can grab her then, once she splits up from her friend. Her servant boy looks like he will be easy to handle," replied Gio, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. He had watched the trio when they had first emerged from the school. The target seemed irritated for some reason and Gio had no intention of figuring out why the spoiled little princess was so sour. The well dressed boy that followed her out was smirking at her though, so he assumed he had something to do with it. After the two aristocrats had left the building, a lanky young man clearly dressed as a butler had followed after them, flustered. Yes. The servant would be easy to deal with.

"We have one of our men already seated in the police. Once her parents file the missing person report, we will have all the information we need to get the money," added Nian, a determined glint in his dark brown eyes, though they too were trained on the floor. They had been unable to locate the girl's house in the short amount of time they had been following her, but they would have her address soon enough. Police plants were a much simpler way to gain information as well as a good defense. Once they took the child, Nian had no doubt her wealthy parents would involve the police to try to track her down. Their plant would make sure they were one step ahead of the game.

"Good good. Gio. Nian. You will both go out to acquire the target. Take who you need and don't cause a scene. Leave no trace." Despite being in shadow, the boys could almost see a hint of a smirk on their leader's face. Nian held a scowl, looking up for the first time since the group had been addressed.

"But Sir! My men and I can do this without any help. This will be an easy capture. Why bother sending that second rate out with me?" Nian said, his tone agitated but forcibly calm. It was taking a lot of effort for the man to not yell his disgust.

Gio smiled at Nian. "Now now, I outrank you remember Ni ? If I'm second rate, and you're beneath me, you must be third rate," he added with a sly smirk. The furious glare he received in return brought that old saying to mind – if looks could kill. Kirin flinched at his companions' outburst. He still had his gaze on the ground, tracing each and every curve in the wooden boards with his eyes. He was visibly shocked when he heard subtle laughter coming from behind the curtain. He had expected anger from their boss but instead … their boss was amused by Nian and Gio's disrespectful word war. As the laughter rose to a more audible level, both Gio and Nian quieted and stared at the shadowed curtain.

"That is my mandate. You do not plan on going against it …. Do you?" asked the shadow with a grin his men could not see.

"Of course not" Gio responded with a bow of his head. A reluctant "no sir" came from Nian and the trio was dismissed. Kirin exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding once they were out of their boss's presence.

"Geez Nian, I thought you'd be able to keep a lid on your deep emotions for me during work," laughed Gio. Kirin still couldn't believe how lightheartedly Gio dealt with things. Part of him wondered if he was just that calm and collected….or if he just didn't realize how serious of a situation they had been in. He finally let a smile drift across his face as Nian and Gio continued their foolish little fight.

As time moved on, the team of three grew in number and seriousness.

At last it was time to make their move.

* * *

Akito twirled around, letting the soft feathery base of his dress flair out and sparkle as the silver tipped feathers caught the light of the falling sun. He clapped his hands together with a warm hearted giggle, ignoring his friend's minor look of disgust (As well as the annoyed groan in the back of his mind from a certain little shark). He skipped over to Ikki and walked happily beside his favorite friend.

"Ikki-kun, you did great today! The class really seemed excited by the time we finally finished practice" said the young blue haired child as he sent an encouraging smile in the crow's direction. Ikki only sighed.

"Yeah, because Agito can do all the tricks they want him to do perfectly. In a dress! I can't even tease him about it," cried the crow as he reflected on the day's events. He had messed up one of his tricks and heard that mocking laughter of Agito's. His return taunt about how naturally Agito could twirl about in a dress was thrown back at him with a nasty snarl. Agito had completely turned his words around, commenting on how he could skate perfectly no matter what he wore, yet Ikki, who got to wear pants, still sucked.

"You know…he won't say it to your face… but Agito does respect you Ikki-kun." Akito said as he laid his hand comfortingly on Ikki's arm. Ikki stood tall, smirking.

"Well of course he does! I'm awesome and he's my loyal minion. I'll be so amazing tomorrow, I'll make him eat his words!" Ikki said, send a challenging smile Akito's way. Akito cheered happily for Ikki. Suddenly he seemed to remember something.

"Oh! I left my ATs back at the school!" Exclaimed Akito as he stopped in his tracks. "You go on ahead. I'll just run back and get them." With one last wave, Akito turned and started skipping back towards the school. Ikki waved bye and continued walking to the Noyamano house. He wondered if the Noyamano sisters were as interested in seeing Akito's dress as the little kid was in showing them. He shook his head as he smiled.

* * *

Akito slowed as he got further and further away from Ikki. The sky was darkening fast and he got a strange chill up his spine. He felt this way before…when? Oh yeah. In the schoolyard when Agito was in control. As he walked he peeked over his shoulder and swept his eyes over the streets. He stopped a moment when he saw a man leaning against a wall, but it was just a man right? No need to be so paranoid. He kept walking, picking up his pace a bit the closer he got to the man.

"Hey kid. My my, that dress is stunning on you," came the man's gentle words. Akito glanced over at him and mumbled a thank you but didn't stop moving. Another man had stepped out of the shadows, causing the short cross dresser to bump into him.

"Sorry sir," Akito apologized automatically even though he knew very well this was not good. He quickly tried to push past the man but was stopped by a heavy hand on his arm. He was spun around to face the man who had been leaning against the wall. The man got up and walked over, pulling his hands out from the pockets of his worn out jeans. Akito looked up at him cautiously. He was tall with messy brown hair and goggles on his head. His brown and tan jacket resembled an aviator's jacket with a pitch black undershirt. He didn't exactly look menacing, but clearly he wasn't here to play nice.

"Now now, don't be frightened…" started the mysterious man as he stepped closer. He got a good look at the kid and stopped his planned little speech. She didn't look scared at all. That was no fun. Oh well, skip that part then and move on to a different rant. He let his hand drift down to lift the child's chin up so he could look her in the eye."I thought your boyfriend would never leave," again the man paused, raising an eyebrow at the excitement evident in their captive's face when he said that, but he quickly decided to move on. "Now you're going to come with us all right sweety?" He cooed. Once again he was floored by the reactions he was getting from this girl. She smiled at him? What?

Akito smiled as the man talked to him. He even chuckled a bit at the man's befuddled expression. "I'm sorry. Ikki-kun expects me home soon." He said simply, tugging his face away from the man's hand.

"This ain't a joke kid" was all the man said as he straightened up and returned his hands to his pockets. Akito merely smiled once more before twisting his held arm and pushing against his captor's thumb. He easily pulled free and began tearing down the street. "GET HER!" growled the man, pushing the surprised goon who had let their angel literally slip through his fingers. Akito ran hard, hearing the footsteps echoing behind him. They were catching up to him. He started reaching for his eyepatch as Agito pleaded to switch places, but his arm was grabbed by one of his chasers.

"Let Go!" cried Akito as he tried to pull away. That wasn't working, so he bent down and swept the feet out from under the man with a strong kick. Sure he didn't ride air treks anymore, but he wasn't defenseless. He head-butted another man and dove between the legs of the goggled guy. His legs sent him flying forward, though it was hard to ignore the sound of ripping fabric as the guy grabbed for Akito's dress. It was a foolish mistake to steal a glance behind him for in that moment his head crashed into something.

With a thud, he fell to the ground, dirtying his now torn feathery gown. He looked up to see a man glaring down at him, muscled arm extended exactly at Akito's head level. For a moment a look of pure terror flitted across Akito's face as he looked up at the man, but it soon faded. Their eyes held the same dark look… but this man did not have long silver hair, lacked a whip, and had dark brown eyes instead of pale blue. Akito let out a sigh of relief (Again completely baffling his attacker) but the moment of relief was short lived as the man reached down and grabbed Akito by the collar of his dress. He was wearing a dark smile that made Akito's skin crawl. Thinking fast, Akito bit down on the offending hand and once again took off down the street as profanities were shouted after him. He breathed heavily as he hid in a dark alley, pressed against the wall. As he peeked around the corner, searching for his pursuers, he completely missed the silent hands that were coming from behind him. He let out a short gasp as his head was pulled backwards and strange smelling rag was pushed against his mouth and nose. He tried to yell but everything that came out was completely muffled by the cloth. He tried to push the arms away but his arms suddenly felt weak and his mind ached for sleep. He vaguely saw the angry face of the man he had bitten arrive at the entrance to the alley followed by the group he had run away from earlier, but his vision was getting blurry. He saw their mouths moving, but couldn't make out the sounds.

Then everything faded to darkness.

* * *

**Kit: I want to thank my reviewers for this one. I'm a lazy writer, but when I read your reviews, it just put me in the mood to finally type this chapter up. **

**That's it for part 3. What will happen next? You'll have to wait and see. **

**(hah! Accidental rhyming.)  
**

**Agito: What happened to your dumbass goal of longer chapters and shortening your shit commentary?  
**

**Kit: Ah, you! You're supposed to be kidnapped! Go be unconscious somewhere….**


	4. Imprisoned

**The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them. **

**PS: If you want to see the dress Akito is wearing, it is the preview image for Part 2 on DA.**

**hawaiianbabidoll.****deviantart. com/art/Air-Gear-Kidnapped-Part-2-194814756 (remove the space between the . and the com)  
**

* * *

Voices reached a young boy's ears, but what those voices were saying, the child could not be sure. His eyes were closed, content with the darkness and comforted by the morning bickering that always echoed in his room ever since he had escaped from the well his brother had so carefully built around him. He smiled warmly, thinking of his life, and decided to go join the rest of the house for breakfast. The boy let his eye drift half way open; slowly letting the dim lights break into his mind. Funny...he could have sworn his room was warmer then this….and the roof seemed higher than usual. He was still feeling groggy but honestly neither he nor his other self had ever been the type to just jump out of bed. As the lack of recognition of his surroundings battled to raise the child's alarm, another strange sensation prickled its way into the sleepy child's mind. Something was biting into his wrists. Lazily he moved to bring his hands up for examination. _'How strange'_ he thought, '_my hands don't want to part._' He tugged once more, willing his hands to come forward, giggling as he scolded their disobedience. Pain bit into his wrists and at last a light seemed to glimmer in the child's golden eye. He gasped and whipped his head around, finally seeing where he was. This wasn't the Noyamano house.

The boy tugged once again with his hands, feeling the bite of metal dig into his wrists behind his back. He could tell they weren't just simple handcuffs; not something so thin and fragile. With his hands so uselessly stuck together, he turned his attention towards the small room, searching for anything that could help him identify exactly where he was. His eye locked onto the door opposite him, the only source of light and apparently the only way into this room. He immediately stood up to go investigate. Akito managed to get to his feet even without the use of his bound hands with relative ease. All that time strapped up in a straitjacket trained him pretty well in the art of getting through life without using his arms. Standing made him a little dizzy and now that he was finally aware, he felt a dull throbbing in his cheek. He pushed away the weaknesses and quickly headed towards the door. He heard the sound of clinking metal, and only realized where it was coming from when he felt his hands pulled backward. With a small yelp, his feet went out from under him and he crashed back down onto the floor. He let a single pained cry echo through the room before he bit down on his lip. Now his rear end was throbbing along with his head and wrists. His fingers flexed and felt the thick chain that connected his metallic cuffs to the wall. It was stupid of him to make a dash like that… of course he was chained to the wall.

* * *

As a dull thump echoed through the room, a tall man glared at the door beside him. He pulled a cigarette from between his lips and exhaled slowly before snuffing the bit of rolled paper against the stone wall. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"Fricken brat" he grumbled with clear distaste for the 'angel' that now claimed residency there. The kid could struggle all she wanted, but the music upstairs was effectively drowning out any ruckus she made. Nian of course was still pissed he had to play baby sitter for the day. The scowling kidnapper was brought out of his thoughts as the gentle sound of footsteps on the stairs reached his ears. He watched with a bored expression as his younger brother approached the door and peeked inside.

"… Was it really necessary to punch her, brother?" Kirin's voice was low and sad. Nian merely rolled his eyes.

"Couldn't chance the little bitch waking up" he growled as he curled his hand into a fist. He glared at the bite mark still clearly visible on his hand. Nian glanced towards his brother, barely catching Kirin's doubting eyes. Kirin knew Nian was lying. He hit her out of revenge or to stroke his ego or something along those lines, but he wasn't going to call him out on it. He returned his gaze to the girl, still lying motionless on the ground. His eyes held a bit of pity as he looked into the cell of their latest victim. Her once beautiful dress was effectively destroyed and silver feathers were now littered across the floor covered in dirt and grime. It would have been impossible to know the dress had at one point held the most pure whites and lightest of blues.

"Ironic isn't it? When we first saw her, she looked like something completely angelic… We get her and she looks just like a fallen angel." He murmured with a strangely empty tone. He watched her carefully until at last the figure moved. She looked up at him with a single large innocent eye. Kirin immediately looked away and leaned against the wall beside his brother.

"So… how long do you think it'll take before the police get a call from her parents?" Kirin had to distract himself from the look he just received. It wouldn't take long before the child was out of their hair and then they'd have a nice chunk of profit.

"A rich bitch like that? It'll only be a matter of hours." At last Nian's nasty scowl vanished and was replaced with the faintest of smirks.

* * *

The door to his cell slammed open and a man stormed in wearing tight leather pants, tall strappy steel toed boots, and a leather top that looked like the sleeves had been literally torn off. Akito recognized the man immediately. He couldn't forget that glare, those dark eyes that reminded him so much of his own brother on a bad day. He pressed himself against the wall, but studied the man without any fear on his face. This was one of the guys who stole him right? Why though? Akito finally had to look away from the man's cruel glare. He didn't like to feel hated, especially when he didn't understand what he had done wrong. In the back of his mind, another voice tried to soothe the blue haired child, though the calming words were often interrupted by growling and swearing. Something about tearing them to shreds with his fangs. Akito wasn't quite sure anymore as his attention was on the tray that had been noisily dropped in front of him. He stared at it for a moment wide-eyed and confused. A chunk of bread and some sort of soup sat at his feet. Well, it resembled soup now but it was so watered down Akito couldn't be sure what it had started out as. His eye jumped back up to the man's face. Maybe he wasn't as hated as he thought. Maybe this man was just thinking of something else and that was why he looked so angry.

"Um…thank you… but how am I supposed to eat it without my hands?" He asked with only the slightest hesitation. His voice was still as cherubic as ever and the slight cock of his head would have made the hearts of his female classmates melt instantly. It had the opposite effect on this man though.

"Dumb bitch, eat it like the dog you are" came the venomous reply before the man turned and stormed out. Akito flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut and he let his eye fell on the food. Apparently he WAS hated. He stared at the food for a long time before his stomach growled angrily at him. It wasn't as wary as its master and was being quite demanding. Akito sighed.

"I wonder how long we've been here" he mumbled quietly to himself as he moved so his belly was on the floor and his face was closer to the 'meal'.

'_I'm not sure myself. No windows…. fuck'_

"I hope Ikki-kun isn't too worried about us. I wonder what these strange people want," sighed Akito, again his voice barely a whisper as he just stared blankly at the food.

'_Eat, Akito. We don't know when our next meal will be.'_ urged his other self. Akito nodded and dipped his head into the bowl of broth water. He cringed immediately.

"….it's cold" he mumbled. His inner voice almost laughed.

'_Bread's probably stale too'  
_

* * *

Gio meandered down stairs, heading towards a specific wooden door when he saw his 'favorite' person storming over.

"Hey Nian~" He cooed with playful taunting. He could so go for a good verbal fight right about now. To his surprise though, the sandy haired man just grunted and continued walking. Gio watched him go before walking over to the much more sociable of the Shou siblings.

"Alright Kirin. Spill. Why is mister wears-his-pants-too-tight pissy today?" he asked as he glanced inside of the chamber at their guest. He smirked a bit, noticing the girl's hesitation and mumbling when it came to her meal. His eyes soon went to Kirin, waiting for an answer. Kirin sighed.

"Nian is mad because it's been almost 2 days and not a single report has shown up about a missing person." He explained before looking up to meet Gio's gaze. "What about you? You went to spy on the school again right?" He asked. Gio nodded.

"Yeah, and not a single person was panicking. They were all still giddy and happy, doing whatever. It actually looked like they were setting up a celebration." Gio explained. Naturally he hadn't noticed that a few of the students wore nervous looks as they gazed out away from the school. How could he have possibly known some of those students didn't usually wait until the very last second after the bell rang to go inside, that they didn't usually spend their lunches in the classroom discussing something important, or that when they left school they didn't go straight home, but rather stayed up until late at night in desperation, scouring the streets for even the slightest clue? All Gio saw was a typical school with typical students with typical problems. Gio glanced back into the room, watching as the girl leaned over to the bread and gripped it with her teeth before skillfully maneuvering it in her mouth until she could bite it properly. It was almost as if she was used to eating without her hands. For some reason the very idea of that made Gio chuckle.

"You know, I've got to agree with Nian. I'm pretty surprised nobody has contacted the police about her. That pretty little face of hers ain't exactly the type that gets ignored." He said aloud, trying to figure out this mystery. "You know, maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Instead of waiting for someone to ask about her…. let's try a different approach" Gio turned and looked at Kirin with a grin. Kirin's shoulders immediately sagged.

"Why do I get the feeling your plan has to deal with me?" He moaned.

"Well let's face it. If we want her to talk, we need a face she can open up to. Can you really picture her making nice talk with Nian?" laughed the man as he patted Kirin's shoulder with a gloved hand. "Look, I'll ask her where she lives now, and if that doesn't work….I nominate you to feed the angel tomorrow. Now get. My turn to watch and if I keep you too much longer, I have a feeling your brother will blow a gasket" Kirin rolled his eyes and smiled at Gio before heading upstairs. Gio watched him go and just stood by the door for awhile. Staring at stone quickly grew boring, so he turned his attention to the only thing watchable down here. His eyes once again peered through the tiny barred window in the sturdy wooden door. The girl managed to finish her food and by the look on her face, it wasn't very satisfying. She was lying there, still on her belly and chin flat against the floor, staring at the completely empty tray her food had been served on with a pout on her face. He couldn't help but snort when he noticed the bowl had somehow managed to get on top of her head. Well, she was definitely an interesting child wasn't she?

* * *

Kirin opened the small thin door that let downstairs to the storage area and quietly closed it behind him. He glanced around the pool hall bar, letting the music drum out his thoughts. Sometimes it was nice to just let the music drift through you. He walked over to the bar, summoning the bartender for a coke and a drink for his older brother.

He waited patiently, absentmindedly letting his wandering eyes pass over the others in the hall. People-watching was a great way to pass time. He saw a group playing pool and smirked when he noticed the tell tale signs of a 'sneaky pete' cue stick. Somebody was about to be swindled. Glancing to his left, he watched a young couple whisper to each other, giggle, then send each other suggestion smiles. He got bored watching them once the guy started to kiss her neck with enough force to leave a mark. His eyes drifted to the next group, a rag tag collection of teenagers. They looked serious for a group so young, so he leaned in just the slightest to try to catch bits of their conversation. One of them was nervously spouting about how he couldn't keep making excuses for him to the teacher. Another mentioned that it wasn't like this was the first time he up and left in the middle of the night to do his own thing. Kirin didn't hear any more of their little chat as his order arrived and he decided to be on his way. He scooped up the drinks and headed for the stairs leading to the second story. Had he stayed for a second longer, he would have heard the kids agree to look for just an hour longer for their missing member. He would have seen them take off into the streets on those fancy air treks of theirs.

* * *

Nian took the drink his brother offered him and sipped it steadily. His brother sat down beside him on the white leather sofa, leaning back and sighing.

"It'll be worth it in the end. Besides…. She isn't really all that much trouble ya know." Kirin turned his head and looked at his brother, waiting for a reply. Nian finally sat the drink down on the end table.

"I just don't get why her god damn parents haven't cried to the police yet. " He said as he covered his eyes with his hand and massaged his temples in an attempt to keep the approaching headache at bay. "She better bring in some serious cash...hell, it won't matter what she's worth if we don't know who to call." He added after a moment of silence.

"Gio had an idea about that. She still looks pretty young so blatantly asking her for her address and phone number would probably work. Gio should be doing that right now. If that doesn't work, instead of waiting around for police I'm going to try to get information from her indirectly." The younger Shou said calmly. Nian rolled his eyes as he pulled out a cigarette.

"That dumbass won't get anything done. You'll have to get her talking…and if you fail, I'll make her fucking sing" Nian had a dark look in his eyes again and he crushed the cigarette he had just taken out in his hand. Kirin sighed and shook his head, not really a fan of how his older brother made people talk. He especially didn't like the idea of hurting a child, but apparently he was the only one in the gang who held such a pathetic weakness.

Kirin looked up at his brother, ready to voice his opinion. He would have given Nian that clearly annoyed frown but after looking at his brother's face, he couldn't suppress the smirk that had wormed its way to the surface. His brother looked taken aback at the cigarette debris in his hand and he cursed as he through the bits on the ground. He folded in arms and started some twisted angry pout.

Sometimes Nian was just so childish.

* * *

"Wheet whooo~"

'_Did you hear that Agito? Sounded like a bird right?'_ Akito smiled at the sound. It reminded him of Ikki. He heard it again and shifted from his place on the floor. He hadn't moved in a few hours and he was feeling a little stiff.

'_Akito, it's coming from the door'_ said the boy's other self. Akito lazily opened his eye to look at the door, and focused on the figure through the window. The little window was small and had bars running through it, but he could still make out the dark brown hair and eyes of the whistling silhouette. He pulled himself up onto his knees, ignoring the clatter of the plaster bowl as it fell to the floor.

"Bout time you woke up. I was getting nervous there, angel" called the figure peeking through the door. His voice was familiar….actually, so was that face. Akito couldn't see him clearly, but he was almost positive it was the same guy that he had first passed by when he was stolen.

"Why did you steal me?" Akito called out to the door, golden eye sad and confused. The man smirked.

"You know, most people would ask 'why did you kidnap me'." He noted. Yes…their little angel was definitely interesting.

"Please tell me why." Akito pressed on. If he knew why he was taken, maybe he could fix what was wrong.

"Alright kid calm down. I'll answer your question, but first you have to answer mine. It'll be like a game. That's fair right?" Akito wasn't sure if this man's words were trustworthy, but he nodded anyway. "Good good. Alright, tell me your address and I'll answer a question."

Akito looked down a moment, thinking hard. His address? He wasn't sure about this…what if they went after Ikki next? Could he even call the Noyamano house his actual address? It wasn't his real home after all. He sighed and decided to be honest.

"My address changes almost every day" He replied, thinking about the trailer that he and his brother lived in. A house on wheels….yeah it didn't really have a set address. When Akito finally looked back at the man, he was surprised to see the man with a raised eyebrow and disbelieving eyes. "What's wrong? I'm sorry. My home changes so much I don't even know where it is right now!" Again, he was being completely honest. The man sighed and mumbled something Akito couldn't make out.

Gio stared at the kid for a moment before shaking his head. Her family really moved that often? She must have had a few houses or something and they probably switched between them all the time. That was the only reasonable explanation.

"Alright angel, can you—"Gio was surprised when he was cut off. He blinked and laughed. The girl was scolding him for trying to ask two questions in a row, and that was breaking the rules.

"Alright, now you have to answer my question. Why did you steal me?" Akito repeated the same question yet again, amazingly able to keep his tone patient and his face innocent.

"Alrighty then, we took you away for safe keeping. We're protecting you from the bad guys and once the bad guys are all gone, we can take you home. Of course…we'll need an address for that, angel." The man supplied smoothly. His face seemed nice and his voice gentle, but Akito wasn't a fool.

"I'm not playing with you anymore. I was honest when I answered your question. You're supposed to be honest." Akito announced, turning away from the door with the tiniest bit of a pout. He walked on his knees towards the back wall, making sure to keep his back to the door. He could feel the man staring at him and he was tempted to steal a glance, but he wasn't going to let the man think he could get away with that lie. If the man wasn't going to answer his question, then he wasn't going to answer either.

"Aww come now, don't turn away from me. What do I have to do to make you keep playing?" The man was still trying this mind game? Akito didn't turn around.

"You have to answer my question honestly" He said matter-of-factly with his eyes closed and nose in the air.

"You certainly are a little enigma aren't you, angel?" asked the man with a laugh.

"Why do you keep calling me angel?" Akito asked as he twisted his body around to face the door again. He couldn't resist looking at the man, once again wearing a face of utter confusion. The reply was yet another laugh.

"It's a nickname sweety. And look at that, I answered your question and I was completely honest about it. Now to keep things fair, you've got to answer one of mine." He purred.

'_Walked right into that one Akito….but we can play his game too.'_ Agito chuckled in the back of Akito's mind, whispering to the only other person who could hear him. Akito smiled innocently.

"Okay then fine. Yes, I am a little enigma. Your question has been answered. Now it's my turn to ask again." He said cheekily, fully turning his body so he could properly face the door. Now it was Akito's turn to laugh as the man in the window stared with shocked disbelief.

Gio was surprised. She was just a little girl. He thought this would be a cake walk, but the little angel was proving to be a tough nut to crack. He smirked. This game of theirs was proving to be more fun than he had expected.

"Alright angel. Ask your question."

* * *

**Kit: Oh man I'm such a slow updater. I blame another story for that though…. I have this idea for another air gear story and couldn't seem to focus on this one. I finally broke down and wrote out the plot points of the new story. Unlike this story, my new story already has an ending (In fact, the ending was the first thing I typed). Yeah, I'm just kind of making 'Kidnapped' up as I go along…no real planning here.**

**Updates may come even slower now that I'm back in school and writing multiple stories at once. My goal is to finish this one before I post the others though. Kidnapped will be my priority story.**

**Akito: I hope you read the new one when Kit finally posts it.**

**It focuses on me before I met Ikki…..before I met Agito….**


	5. Misunderstandings

**The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them. **

* * *

In a place that was never quiet, with a light that never went out, there was no sense of time. Akito was once again sitting against the back wall, leaning against the stone surface and staring up into the darkness. He could just make out what looked like support beams, but he had no idea where the ceiling was. He wasn't even sure if it was a roof over his head, or another room. What if he was underground? He had to be beneath something, because he was pretty sure the low thrumming sound of the music was above him…but then again, the music could have been distorted by the echo of the room. He should have tried to get goggle-guy to tell him. Akito closed his eye and let his thoughts wander. He remembered drifting in and out of consciousness quite often, but there was no telling how long he was actually asleep. At least when he was with his brother, he could look out the windows to get a general sense of time. He was really starting to miss the sky… not to mention this little room they were keeping him in smelled terrible.

The boy sighed and listened to the dull hum of the music.

* * *

The guard at the door saw the silent sneakers before he actually heard the person who wore them. He was impressed the boy had managed to come down the steps without a single stray noise. Gio looked up from his crouched huddle against the wall to see a leather free Kirin with a tray in his hands.

"I see you've finally decided to ditch your brother's horrible sense of clothes. Jeans and sneakers….much better then -" Gio was silenced by a disapproving look.

"What if the girl associates the leather and stuff with my brother? She's probably afraid of him." He said as he looked towards the door. He exhaled slowly, deciding to keep things on track instead of debating fashion. Gio could make fun of his clothing choice later. Right now, they had to stay focused, ransom the girl, and finish up this mission.

"So. Am I still trying to get info or did you get everything we needed?" he asked his friend. When he didn't receive an answer, he looked at Gio in curious confusion. The goggle wearing brunette had his hands on his head and was staring at the floor.

"She's a freakin' mental ninja. Want to know the information I got from her? She likes birds and ice cream, her favorite colors are blue, green, and yellow, when she bathes she starts by washing her head, and she thinks coffee is _boss_, whatever the hell that means." He said in frustration as he finally looked up at Kirin. The blonde looked at Gio with a raised eyebrow.

"And you were talking about those things because….."

"I have no freaking idea! One minute I was questioning her about her last address, next thing I knew, the questions had turned to the topic of pickles and peanut butter!"

"….okay….?" Kirin was at a loss for words for a minute there. "You know what? Start from the beginning" He said as he sat down beside Gio and soon the brown haired man was going over the details of his attempt at interrogation.

* * *

Akito's head snapped towards the door as the sound of heavy wooden door being pushed open. He watched with a wary eye as a man came in with a tray in his hands and closed the door behind him. Akito couldn't help himself. The caution he should have been taking when he was in such a pathetic state in front of a potential enemy was nowhere to be seen. Now his golden gaze was locked onto the tray and he was unconsciously leaning forward. His face visibly lit up when the man was close enough that the boy could see what was on the tray. A nice big helping of rice! Akito's stomach seemed to be in agreement with him, as it let out an eager grumble once the smell of the food reached him. It wasn't until the form holding the tray actually sat down in front of Akito that the child finally looked at the person. He blinked and tipped his head to the side. The man looked young, though clearly older then himself. His short messy hair was blonde, but it looked like there was just the slightest hint of red mixed in. His eyes were a hazel color and were staring at him with curiosity. He was wearing a zippered hooded jacket that was some shade of dark bluish green with silver zippers running down the center of the jacket as well as edge of the pockets.

It wasn't the same guy who brought the food last time and even more strange was that he apparently was planning to stay for the meal. The man smiled at him, but not a cruel or mocking smile. It was pleasant and almost warm.

"I heard you gave Gio one hell of a time yesterday" the man said. Akito stared at him. Gio? He must have been goggle guy. So that was yesterday?

"So how about this. I'll give you all this rice if you tell me how you managed to put his brain on overload like that" the man continued. His smile was sincere and he seemed nice… but Akito knew better then to take things for face value. Still, he was hungry.

"Two hath more wit than one." came his reply as he locked his eye onto the hazel ones of the man before him and gave his best innocent smile. The man merely raised an eyebrow. He didn't stop Akito when the kid leaned in to eat the food in the same way he had eaten his last meal. Akito was pleasantly surprised when he discovered the rice was actually warm. He was eating so fast the man before him wondered if he was even breathing between gulps of food. The rice was gone in the blink of an eye and the man watched as the child licked the bowl clean. He waited a while longer before he began to speak again.

"What's your name? I don't want to keep calling you 'kid' every time I see you." He asked lightheartedly as he leaned his cheek against his hand, elbow planted securely on his knee. Akito looked up and straightened himself. He seemed to hesitate a moment before finally speaking.

"… Akito."

"Akito? That's a nice name. You can call me Kirin." Kirin reached out a hand towards Akito, who immediately tracked the appendage with suspicion in his eye. He slowly started to pull away but the hand still landed on his head and gently ruffled his blue hair. Akito furrowed his brow and gave Kirin a confused look. The blonde pulled his hand back and smiled.

"Don't worry. Really, I'm not going to hurt you." Kirin offered. Akito held a faint smile.

"The fox will tell the crow what she wants to hear, in hopes of a bounty dropped."

Kirin blinked in surprise. It was clear now why Gio had difficulty in getting information out of her. The girl sitting before him didn't look like much, especially now after days in this prison, but she wasn't just some stuck up brainless aristocrat. Gio truly was no match for her wit.

"Tell me about yourself." Kirin was honestly curious now. The child was staring at him blankly and did not say a word. "Well fine. Should I tell you about me then?" He asked. Again, not a single thing passed through the child's lips. Kirin sighed and moved himself so he was leaning against the wall beside Akito.

"Let's see… how about I tell you the time I found this cat stuck up in a tree? It was a pitch black little scrap of fur and kept crying, 'meow meow meow'. I felt bad for it, stuck there without any way to get down, so I decided to climb the tree to help. My brother yelled at me once he came out and saw me halfway up the trunk of the tree. I tried to explain to him that the cat needed my help, but Nian was stubborn even when he was 10. He told me I was being stupid and I was going to get hurt, but that didn't stop me. When I finally reached the cat, I held out my hand… and the little bastard scratched me." Kirin laughed just the slightest bit. "Turns out it didn't need my help after all. The cat scampered down the trunk of the tree and dashed off into the alley. Next thing I know is I'm falling through open air. The branch I was on snapped. I woke up the next day in the hospital with a broken leg and my brother leaning over me scared shitless. Leave it to him to start lecturing me and saying 'I told you' when I'm injured" Kirin chuckled again at the memory. When he turned to look at Akito, he was disappointed to see the kid's eye locked on the wall with a face devoid of any emotion.

"No comments? No questions?" He asked, tipping his head to the side and forcing a smile onto his face. Again, Akito stayed quiet, like he hadn't even heard him.

"You can't even give me a single little story about your life? Not even about what your favorite ice cream flavor is or something?" Kirin asked. He didn't care what the kid talked about at this point, just as long as she spoke. When Gio had been telling him about their talk, he gave the impression the girl wasn't this guarded. After a stretch of time, he was starting to lose any hope of getting her to talk again.

"A little knowledge is apt to puff up, and make men giddy…" Akito finally said. Kirin turned towards Akito, though the child hadn't shifted at all. He grinned at her.

"But a greater share of it will set them right, and bring them to low and humble thoughts of themselves." Now it was Akito who wore a look of shock and instantly he was facing Kirin. He smiled, for the first time a genuine smile, at the blonde haired man.

"There we go. A real smile at last. I bet a girl like you can get all the boys at school right?" He asked. Akito blinked in surprise and his cheeks tinged with pink, though for a different reason then Kirin suspected.

"Um…I.." Akito started, suppressing the smile that was trying to come to the surface. He couldn't help it. Another voice inside his head was barking like mad about wanting to carve his road into this guy and send him to the hospital so he can learn the difference between a man and a woman.

Kirin looked at Akito curiously, trying hard but failing completely in his attempts to read that expression. "Yeah?" He pressed.

"I'm not…" He looked up at Kirin, about to tell him the truth when something else came to his attention. This was much more important at the moment. "I have to go to the bathroom." He said before he quickly got up and made his way to the corner. He kept his back to Kirin and faced the corner, leaning over and gripping the skirt in his mouth before gently lifting it up. The last thing he wanted to do was get his clothes messed up even more than they already were. Well, on the bright side, at least he only had to pee right now. It was terribly awkward when he had to do more.

Kirin looked away. That explained the smell.

* * *

Gio glanced through the opening in the door. He'd been listening in, but couldn't really make out much of the mumbling he heard through the wall. He could tell Kirin was doing most of the talking though, he got that much. As he looked in he was honestly surprised to see the blonde sitting beside the girl. He managed to make her laugh, and not one of those fake laughs, but a real one. He watched as Kirin stood up and waved goodbye to the little angel, promising that he'd bring her dinner later. Gio raised an eyebrow. Clearly he didn't get the information they needed either if he was going to talk to her again.

As the door opened, Gio folded his arms and looked expectantly at Kirin.

"I told you right? She completely messes with your mind when you talk to her." Kirin merely smiled at Gio and shook his head.

"I didn't think so. You just don't know how to understand a metaphor when you hear one" Kirin said with a snigger. "Honestly, once I got over the first wall, it wasn't too bad at all. Actually, I think I might have impressed her." Kirin said as he looked towards the door that held Akito.

"Whatever, impressing the prisoner doesn't get answers. What did you learn?" Gio pressed. He felt like Kirin had insulted him earlier, but he had no real defense against it. That and he was eager to annoy Nian by holding information the elder Shou sibling lacked over his head.

"Her name is Akito. She wouldn't tell me her last name, and any time I even tried to press her to tell me, she'd close up. She's smart, so she probably knows we can use her name to track down what we really want to know. Still, we can at least run the name Akito through the system. See what comes up." Kirin said calmly. Gio waited for Kirin to continue, but he didn't.

"And? What else did you learn?" He finally asked. Kirin scratched the back of his head, hiding the blush.

"That's it. I did most of the talking. I thought if I told her stories that she'd loosen up, but…" Kirin trailed off. It would take time to build trust between them, no matter how fake the trust would be. Gio sighed.

"Fine fine. You play guard. I'm going to give the name to the techs and see what they dig up" he said before he headed upstairs.

* * *

In the dark room, Akito watched Kirin leave. Akito had originally decided he would be silent until he and Agito figured out a way to escape from here, but Kirin was sharper than the goggle guy. Akito had tried to trip him up early on, but Kirin didn't question his choice of words. Akito had tried to derail the initial conversation, giving Kirin something he could think about, but the blonde had apparently understood exactly what Akito had meant and even supplied the second half of the phrase. Again Akito was surprised when he started talking about himself. He had thought for sure that the man was trying to pull him for information, but whenever Akito felt like he was being pressed for information, all he had to do was look away and Kirin picked up the conversation right where he left off.

'_Akito, he's trying to gain our trust.'_

"I know Agito… but it's nice to have someone to talk to. Don't worry. We won't let anything important slip." Akito replied quietly to his inner thoughts.

'…_.yeah, well I still don't like the dumbass'_

"You're only saying that because he called us a girl" Akito chuckled. That reminded him, he forgot to correct Kirin about that.

'_Well, if you HAVE to talk to him, at least try to get something useful out of him.'_

Akito nodded, still smiling. Agito helped make this whole ordeal bearable. It was a nice comfort to know he was never truly alone.

* * *

Akito looked up to see Kirin coming in with another tray. He smiled. Not only was getting food always good, but it would help him keep tabs on how much time was passing. He knew it had been at LEAST three days since his arrival here. The only thing that worried him was if it had been more than three days, just how many more? He didn't want to worry Ikki but more importantly he couldn't put Ikki and his friends at risk.

Akito looked at Kirin with an unreadable expression. No, he was not going to give him any information that could put his friends in danger.

Kirin once again sat down in front of Akito, placing the tray on the ground and waiting patiently as the child devoured it all. He watched with mild amusement as Akito literally licked the plate clean once the fish was gone and never once lifted her mouth from the broth until the bowl was empty. Akito sighed and leaned back against the wall with the smallest trace of a smile. It hadn't been a huge meal, but it was more than Akito had had the past few days. Kirin moved so he was leaning against the wall beside the eye patched child and just sat there for awhile in silence. He glanced at the kid out of the corner of his eyes and noted that her eye was closed at the moment. It didn't last long for with the slightest twist of the head, the golden eye was trained on him, waiting. The gaze was once again guarded. Kirin sighed and started talking. He told Akito a story about how he and his brother were dared to steal from the corner store when they were in grade school. They had been so nervous about being caught, they had just grabbed the first thing they saw and returned to the one that had issued the dare. Kirin had stolen a bag of lemonheads candy while Nian had stolen a lacy pink thong. The kid who dared them was laughing so hard about Nian's choice in undergarments that he attracted the attention of the shop owner. The kid took the blame for the theft. When Kirin questioned him about it the next day, the kid said they would have made a clean get away with their women's panties if it weren't for him, so of course he took the blame. Gio and Kirin were best friends ever since.

Akito smiled. "Does your brother still have them?" He asked curiously. Kirin raised an eyebrow.

"Does he still have what?"

"The panties."

Kirin chuckled and ruffled the kid's hair again. "Actually…yeah. He does."

Akito smiled and bit back laughter as well. Agito was whispering to him that this Nian guy probably wore the thong too. After another few stories, most of them about Nian and Kirin, Kirin left again. Akito was left to his thoughts.

"Hey Agito… Kirin and his brother seem really close" he stated quietly to the empty room.

'… _Yeah,'_ was all Agito said. He knew Akito was thinking about Kaito. When it came to their brother, Agito didn't know what to think. They both loved Kaito in a family way, but … but what? Agito couldn't finish the thought. Kaito made him angry. The last few times they met, it hadn't exactly been a pleasant reunion. Sure Kaito had let him go after finding him in the trailer, but the time before had left his clothes in ruins thanks to all the bullet holes. Was that how brothers were supposed to be though? Kaito was so confusing.

* * *

When Kirin came back with dinner the next night, he was surprised when Akito didn't dig into the food immediately. He was even more surprised when Akito looked away and asked him a question right off the bat.

"Kirin… how is a brother… how do you know if someone is your brother?" he asked carefully. Kirin stared, noticing the look on Akito's face as if the kid was deeply pondering something. He tilted his head and tried to think of a good answer. This was the first time Akito had started the conversation.

"Well … a brother usually shares your flesh and blood. Same parents. Not always, but usually. He tries to protect you and you try to protect him." He wondered if that was what Akito was looking for. Akito looked up at him.

"What if you fight? That isn't being very protective." He asked, tone serious. Kirin merely nodded.

"Well yeah, you're going to fight. No relationship is perfect. Besides, sometimes it's a good thing to get all that aggression out once and awhile." Kirin looked over at Akito, who seemed to be processing his words. Soon enough the kid's face was in the food, so his explanation must have been suitable. He sighed and shook his head.

Once Akito was finished with the fish and broth he leaned against the wall and sat quietly, as usual. Kirin wasn't going to let him get away with pretending the brother questions didn't happen though.

"Alright Akito. What were the questions about huh? Do you have a brother?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "You must have asked those questions for a reason." He concluded.

Akito rolled his head to the side so he was looking at Kirin.

"Is a brother supposed to be forgiving? No matter what happens?" He asked suddenly. Kirin blinked at the kid. Did Akito even hear his questions? Kirin slowly exhaled and nodded.

"I guess. I'd stand by my brother no matter what he did. I don't always agree with his actions and he doesn't always agree with mine, but after everything is said and done, we're still family."

Again Akito seemed to be thinking the words over.

"Have you ever been afraid of your brother?" Kirin thought for a moment, before he finally nodded.

"I guess I have. He's acted out before. Sometimes I don't even recognize him." He sighed at that bit, shaking his head with a frown as memories flooded him. He glanced at Akito's pensive face. The kid was quiet after that. Honestly it looked like she was debating something in her head. They sat in silence for awhile, each digesting what they had learned. Kirin was positive now that Akito had a brother.

"Tell me about him. Did you do something you think he won't forgive you for or something?" He asked, looking at Akito with an encouraging smile.

Akito blinked and thought a moment.

"Honestly, that question was more for me. I wanted to know if _I_ should be forgiving. I thought I should be, but you've helped me be surer of it. Like you said, brothers are supposed to forgive each other. " He said softly.

Kirin looked Akito over again. "Brothers? You have more than one?"

Akito chuckled. "Silly, I'M the other brother."

Kirin just stared. Then he stared some more. He tried to speak, but words failed him. Akito was a boy. Was she…he…sure? Of course she, no HE was. He shook his head and organized his thoughts. Alright. This was fine. Akito was a boy, now he just had to question her… him… about her his brother and they could go from there.

"Why are you wearing a dress if you're a boy?" Damn it. That wasn't the question he was supposed to ask.

Akito giggled. "I wore it for a play. I'm playing the princess"

Kirin stared at Akito a moment longer. Realization suddenly dawned on his face as he stood up and headed for the door. Akito was nervous. Did he say something dangerous? No. All he revealed was his gender and that he was in a play. That wouldn't lead them to his friends. He returned his attention to Kirin's retreating back and stared at the door as it closed.

* * *

As soon as the door was closed, Kirin marched straight over to Gio who had claimed residence in the corner, snoozing away. Kirin kicked the sleeper's leg which caused the brunette to look up at him.

"I was guarding still. Swears." He said, though he didn't seem to keen on making his plea believable.

"Gio, Akito is a boy."

Gio snapped to attention. "What? Then why the hell was she wearing a dress every time we saw her?" He asked as he stood up and yawned.

"Apparently she's... HE'S in a play. He's _pretending_ to be a princess." Kirin replied, waiting for the words to sink in. They didn't.

"Gio. Akito might not come from a wealthy family. This could all be for nothing. The butler we saw, the aristocrats, the elaborate decorations. It was for a play." He spelled it out for his goggle wearing friend and at last Gio realized what the problem was.

"Shit. No, we don't have to give up yet. We still don't know anything about the girl"

"Boy"

"Whatever. She could still have money. Keep talking to her." Gio shook his head and groaned. He hoped that kid came from money. They couldn't go back to their boss completely empty handed. They couldn't and wouldn't.

For Akito's sake, Gio hoped the kid had money.

* * *

**Kit: By the way, there IS a reason why Ikki and company haven't reported to the police. Think carefully. I'm sure it will come to you. **


	6. Angels and Devils

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear. **

* * *

A warm smell drifted its way through the air. The fallen angel lifted his head and inhaled the scent. His eye was closed so he let his mind run wild with imagination. He knew once he opened it, the feast he was sitting at beside Ikki and the other Noyamano house residents would be gone. He countered this thought with another. If he didn't open his eye he wouldn't be able to eat at all. Reluctantly, his eyes flickered open. He blinked a few times, quickly adjusting to the dismal level of light in his little room. He looked up to find Kirin sitting down in front of him with his morning tray of food.

"Good morning" Akito greeted with a smile. Kirin smiled back. He couldn't help it. Coming from this tiny boy who was in a rather miserable situation, a smile so pure and innocent was infectious. He watched silently as Akito bent over and gobbled everything in sight. He was wearing a massive smile as he finished and exhaled contently.

"I haven't had eggs in awhile. Did you make them?" Kirin chuckled and shook his head.

"Not a chance. I burn everything even when I'm just trying to heat something up. It's a curse." He smirked and Akito smiled back. Kirin took his place beside the young boy and leaned against the stone wall.

"What should our topic be this morning?" He asked the child beside him. It was strange how this had become so routine in so short a time. He glanced towards Akito, awaiting an answer.

"Eggs" He chirped.

"…eggs….okay." Kirin sat a moment in silence, racking his brain. At last he glanced at Akito.

"I was hanging out with Gio during the summertime when we were kids. He and Nian got into another fight so the two of us were sitting on the sidewalk roasting away. It was hot as heck and Nian refused to let me in the house as long as Gio was with me, and Gio wasn't going to let Nian win so of course, he was pretty much glued to my side." Kirin began. He continued on with the story, detailing how he and Gio tried to sneak into the house in a multitude of ways, and how Nian was there at every turn to stop them from getting near the comfort of an air-conditioned house. Eventually he and Gio wound up sitting beside the house in defeat and soaked in sweat.

"Gio made a completely terrible joke about being able to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Next thing I knew, we were being rained on by eggs. My brother was leaning out of the kitchen window and dumped two whole cartons on us. He said it was so we could test Gio's theory." Kirin chuckled at the memories. Egged by his own brother.

"Did it work? Did you cook any of the eggs?" Akito asked. Kirin laughed again and shook his head.

"Not even close." Akito's shoulders slumped. He had always wondered if it was actually possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

"I wonder if you can cook bacon on a car hood." Akito suddenly asked. He smiled. He'd have to try it when he got back to his friends.

Kirin didn't know what to say back. His face broke into a grin.

"Guess we should try pancakes too. You know, how about an entire sun-cooked breakfast? Sausage, omelets, French toast, waffles, hash browns, bacon, eggs, and a side of chocolate pudding."

"Pudding?" Akito laughed a bit at that, looking up at Kirin with amusement in his eye.

"Of course! What's wrong with pudding for breakfast?" He defended with a huff, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow as if Akito has just questioned why two plus two equaled four.

"Heh heh, nothing I guess. You're making me want pudding though" He said, faking a complaining tone. Kirin decided to continue talking about pudding, the best ways to prepare it, the best flavors, and the power of a dollop of whipped cream. Akito scolded him for teasing him like that and Kirin just laughed light heartedly.

"Don't worry, once you're back home I'm sure your parents will give you as much pudding as you want" Kirin said as he folded his arms behind his head.

"No they won't. The table is a battleground. If you don't grab it, someone else will" Akito chuckled. Kirin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? What, no table manners?" He asked, grabbing this thin thread of a lead and giving it a pull. Akito giggled.

"I'd have to say no. Mealtimes usually start out calm, but it never stays that way. That's what makes it fun though. Meals before weren't nearly as exciting." Akito chirped as he thought about the dangerous battle that was dinner at the Noyamano house.

"Before what?" Kirin pushed. He was nervous this would cause Akito to close up again as he usually did when Kirin gave that nudge for more information. That was why he was surprised when Akito answered immediately.

"Before… when I was in the cage" he said softly, that delicate smile wavering on his thin lips. Kirin stared at him for a second. He knew Akito had a fondness for using metaphors, so he thought nothing of the boy's terminology. Instead he focused on the fact Akito had finally entrusted him with a piece of his life. It was a small piece, a fragment of the child's history, but it was a start. He studied the boy's face. Akito had closed his eye again. He was done talking for the morning. Kirin attempted to restart the conversation, but Akito yawned and said he was tired. Kirin gave him a disbelieving gaze, but it was useless on the little blue haired child who had already decided to doze. Kirin collected the tray and headed out of the room.

* * *

"Geez Kirin, you were in there for hours." Those were the words that greeted the blonde as he exited the chamber.

"Come on Gio, it's not like I can just get him to tell me everything we want so easily. You already know that. We've already tried the direct route." Kirin reminded his impatient friend. Gio shrugged and looked through the window of the door.

"So I'm guessing no luck with her today either?" He asked.

"Him, and actually he told me about meals at his home" Kirin glanced at Gio, who was straightening up and looking at Kirin expectantly.

"Well, it's a start huh? She's too sharp to drop names, but did she let anything else slip?"

"No. My guess is that _he_ comes from a large family though. Fighting over food the way he described it usually goes with a full table." Kirin said as he dissected that shred of Akito's history. Gio snorted at the diagnosis.

"That's nonsense. Me and Nian used to fight over food when it was just the three of us, and you always stayed out of it." Gio was recalling a particular incident where they fought over a single slice of pizza even though there was still seven slices to go around.

"Well yeah, but you two fought over everything and I was smart enough to avoid the crossfire." Kirin laughed as he headed for the steps.

* * *

"I really do want pudding now" Akito listened as his voice bounced off the walls and echoed in his prison faintly. He smiled and whistled loudly, listening to the same effect on the high pitched tweet.

'_I wouldn't mind a steak. Maybe some coffee too.' _

Akito shook his head. "No, strawberry milkshakes go better with pudding and steak."

'_What? Akito that's crazy. Coffee goes with everything.'_

Akito laughed as he and Agito thought about what foods went well together and which completely clashed. They ended up thinking most foods could be eaten together, but not mixed together.

'_Yuck. I still don't know how they got it to smell that bad and turn such a shitty color'_ Agito said mentally to his lighter half once they had reached the topic of the Kogarasumaru training slime. He had never drunk the stuff and he was never going to. His team learned that the hard way last time they tried to force the crap on him. He grinned at the memory. Poor fools didn't know he had brought the fang regalia to school that day.

"I wonder what we're gonna have for dinner" Akito announced to the empty room. He listened as Agito replied.

'_I'm guessing soup water and fish. Maybe a side of the finest stale bread they_ _have'_ he scoffed.

"Yeah. Probably…"

Dinner came fast and Agito had guessed the menu perfectly. Kirin sat down and placed the tray in its usual spot in front of the chained child. This time however he added a warning.

"Careful. The fish is hot. They literally just took it off the fryer." He informed the kid, who was watching the steam come off of the fish.

"Really? And you carried it down here without burning yourself?" Akito asked as he bent down and started on the soup water. Kirin was nodding, though Akito didn't see it with his head in the bowl.

"Yep. I've got special gloves. They're completely heat resistant. Throw them in a fire and they'd still be in perfect condition" He said as he turned his eyes to his hands. He was looking at the gloves in question. They were a deep muddy red color with black palms and fingertips. He didn't get a reply from Akito. The boy's face was still buried in food. Kirin watched as he tore through the bread and then carefully blew on the fish. He was so gentle with the hot bite of food, but that too quickly vanished and he was done.

"That's a weird thing to have. Super gloves. Any reason or do you just like to stick your hands in fire?" Akito asked as he surveyed the gloves the older boy was wearing. Kirin held out his hands so he could get a better look.

"It's really just for my skates. The friction buildup makes the outside of my skates get hot. First time I tried to take them off without some form of protection, I burned my hands. I ended up just walking around in my skates an extra few hours to let them cool and even then it was my brother who had to take them off. My hands were in bandages for the rest of the week. It was a lesson I'm not too keen on repeating," he explained as he dropped his hands to the floor to help prop himself up. Akito was looking at him curiously. Something just didn't add up.

"How can skates get so hot you can't even touch them?" He asked. Kirin had an answer instantly.

"I customized them so they're metal plated. Stupid on my part I guess. The metal on them just traps all the heat and doesn't let it go" he shrugged as if that answered everything. It didn't.

"But still, to gather enough heat to make them burn… you'd have to go really really fast or fast on a really rough surface." Akito pointed out, though Kirin was no longer surprised by Akito's random bursts of knowledgeable information.

"Yeah, but they're not normal skates. They've got little motors in the wheels. It's really easy to hit high speeds when you've got engines on your feet" He stopped when he noticed the look Akito was giving him.

"You ride Air Treks?" He asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah. You know about them? Oh wait… I forgot this area has a lot of AT traffic doesn't it? You probably see people on them all the time right? Or do you skate to?" For a moment Kirin forgot about his information gathering mission. Now he was genuinely curious. There were no traps to this question.

"I'm really not that good. I have Air Treks but whenever I ride, if I try to do any tricks or go too fast I just fall down" He replied with a shrug. He left the riding to Agito now. He hadn't seriously tried to ride in a long time.

"You're young, you'll get the hang of it soon. How long have you been skating?" Kirin asked as he looked over the kid. It took time to train the body to perform and he assumed Akito was a beginner considering he couldn't do tricks… if only he knew that he was looking at the fang king of the bloody road.

"I used to ride a lot a long time ago, but I gave it up. I don't practice anymore" Akito tried to explain while carefully dancing around giving an actual answer to Kirin's question. It wouldn't make a lick of sense if he had been riding for years and couldn't do tricks. He couldn't really remember the exact amount of time he'd been riding anyway. He just always had and once he was unable, Agito took over for him.

"Any reason you gave it up?" Kirin's tone seemed disappointed. He personally enjoyed skating on ATs, though he had no intentions of joining some gang type of thing and it never even occurred to him that he could try to do it professionally. It was strictly a pass time.

"I… had a bad experience while I was riding." He replied, staring at the ground with an unreadable expression. Kirin frowned the tiniest bit.

"You know what they say. When you fall off a horse you have to get back on." He began, watching as Akito looked up at him. A fake smile lay across his face.

"My horse ran away."

* * *

Gio exhaled, breathing a small smog of smoke before flicking the cigarette away. He coughed and made a disgusted face.

"I don't know how you're brother does it," said the brunette as he slumped on the couch. Nian was downstairs and Gio could only imagine how pissed the blonde was when he discovered his cigarettes weren't with him. Gio grinned.

"One of these days, he's really going to kill you" Kirin said as he leaned against his hand, elbow propped up on the arm rest of the couch opposite of Gio.

"Like he can. He can roar all he wants, but he can't bite what he can't catch" Gio shrugged and leaned into the soft plush of the couch.

"Ah yes, because running from your problems is the best way to handle everything." Kirin shook his head and smirked.

"Speaking of mister out-to-get-me, he sure has been irritated lately. More than usual" He added as he caught the look Kirin was giving him.

"He's just being impatient about Akito." Kirin knew his brother was steadily growing annoyed with the whole situation. Had it really been a week ago when they first brought him in? Kirin couldn't imagine why nobody seemed to miss Akito. His experience with the kid had been pleasant so far and he knew he had a brother. Why wasn't his family looking for him?

"Speaking of the little angel downstairs… I don't think she's right in the head. Seriously." Gio was wearing an expression that showed he was thinking back on something.

"He. And why this time? Did he confuse you with another proverb?" Kirin knew Gio wasn't exactly a master of language and it was Akito's proverbs that completely tripped the brunette up the first time he tried to talk to their captive. Surprisingly, Gio shook his head.

"No, but she was definitely talking to herself after you left this morning. Not just talking, but laughing randomly after sitting still in complete silence. Kinda creepy if you ask me." He remembered Akito mumbling to himself before, but this time he could make out the words clearly. The kid had had a full out conversation.

"Are you sure he wasn't trying to talk to you? What was he saying?" Kirin asked. Akito seemed normal to him. Sure, he was pretty calm for a kid who knew he was kidnapped and happy for a person chained to a wall, but that didn't really say 'mental' to Kirin.

"I'd have known if she was talking to me. She"

"He"

"Whatever. Was talking about pudding and what went well with it. That would have been all fine and well, but she was acting like she was responding to someone. She kept waiting and replying to nothing. Hell at one point she was arguing with the air about whether or not French fries with ketchup on them would still taste good dipped in a strawberry milkshake!" Gio visibly shook at the idea of that. Dipping French fries in milkshakes was reason alone to make him see the kid as creepy.

Kirin furrowed his brow. Had the time locked up downstairs gotten to him? He had seemed completely fine when he gave him dinner. He just didn't understand.

* * *

Bringing up Air Treks had been like opening a flood gate. Kirin had barely placed the breakfast tray on the ground when Akito asked him if he ever rode with a team or competed in any contests. When Kirin shook his head, Akito ate the rice at his feet. He finished, quickly as usual, and returned to studying Kirin's gloves. Kirin smiled. ATs could be useful here. Akito clearly had an interest.

"You know, first time I ever skated on my ATs, I couldn't stop. Probably should have read the instructions. My brother ended up bringing out a mattress and holding it upright for me to crash into" Kirin chuckled. He was pleased when Akito also laughed.

"That reminds me of this time I was dragged into a really high jump. Literally. Ik—someone grabbed me as he was going up a ramp with his friends and they all jumped into a free fall. Our jumping forms were terrible, no skill at all. We were lucky to even survive it. Even my brother stayed back, not even chancing the jump. Our version of a mattress was waiting below though. He caught us all." Akito giggled. "He's a big guy but he's really kind. Ik— that someone I mentioned before… he became my best friend that day. If it hadn't been for him and that jump, I'd still be stuck in my cage, trapped in a well."

Kirin smiled. Clearly Akito was trying to protect this someone whose name began with Ik. If he could keep up the conversation, Akito really might let something slip today.

"Your friends sound like a fun bunch huh?" He spoke succinctly, hoping it would lure the boy into talking some more about his friends.

"Yeah. They do really weird things sometimes, yet they say I'M the crazy one" He gave an honest laugh at that, clearly amused by something Kirin had no knowledge of.

"You know, they race each other on Air Treks as practice. We sit on the side lines and watch them go. The loser of the race has to drink whatever is put in the blender, and I mean it when I say whatever. Anything can go in, from raw eggs to Tabasco sauce" Akito bit back another chuckle and smiled again. Kirin was curious about the loser's penalty, but even more curious about Akito on the side lines. He said himself he wasn't very good, so it made sense that he didn't participate, but there was something else.

"You said 'we sit on the side'. We?" He asked.

"Yup. We."

He was sorely disappointed by Akito's reply. Well, he might as well try to push again. It worked last time.

"….who's 'we'?" He questioned, locking his gaze on Akito as the boy turned to look at him. Akito just silently smiled at him.

Kirin had no luck for the rest of his breakfast chat. Akito didn't say anything except the occasional giggle, yes, or no. When he returned with dinner, he was hoping for some better luck.

"Akito, I brought an extra treat. Payment for the torture the other day" He said as he entered and placed the tray down. There beside the fish and soup was a small bowl of chocolate pudding. Akito stared at it in surprise and his face brightened immensely, his mouth quickly strethcing into a warm smile. They talked more about Air Treks, Kirin giving up small stories in attempts to get Akito to talk more. Akito's stories were always told from a bystander's perspective and Kirin noted that Akito himself was never directly partaking. Well, except for the one story about him trying to walk on a rail and falling flat on his face.

As Kirin stood to leave, he was amused at Akito's pout. Akito didn't say anything, but he could tell by the look on his face he wanted him to stay. He promised he'd be back with breakfast before he left, leaving the boy alone in the darkness once more. It was then the thought occurred to him that that could be the reason Akito was sad to see him go. He was stuck in there all alone.

Akito sighed as he watched Kirin leave. Sure he had Agito, but he knew everything Agito had gone through. Kirin's life was like a fairytale. Talking to him was like reading through a book to pass the time. It was nice.

* * *

Brown eyes looked up to catch the mess of blonde hair walking by.

"Hey. Your brother is looking for ya" He called to his partner as he leaned against the wall. "And you sure as hell had the kid talking a lot today. Anything interesting?" He asked.

Kirin glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Interesting, yes. Useful, not really. Tomorrow for sure." He said before he headed upstairs to find his brother. Nian wasn't all that difficult to track down. Like Kirin, his brother had blonde hair, though his was more of a sandy color compared to Kirin's strawberry blonde. Still, it was easy to spot in the dark lit pool hall.

"Gio passed your message. What's on your mind?" He asked as he slipped into the seat opposite his brother. Nian looked angry, but softened just the slightest as his brother sat down.

"The shrimp. What have you got on him?" His tone was flat and calm, but still tinted with annoyance.

"He's got friends that really seem to care about him, so I can't understand why nobody is looking for him. He's been insanely careful about not dropping any names though and never mentions streets or what the area looks like." Kirin knew this wasn't good enough for Nian, but it was all he could offer. As predicted, Nian sneered.

"You've been trying to get him to talk for _days_ Kirin. Even that ass Gio agrees this is going too slow. You're taking too long and we need results now. Even if we have to break the little bastard with force." Nian said, his tone still low and calm, yet dangerous.

"We don't have to resort to violence with him. He's just a kid." Kirin said with a shake of his head.

"When have you been such a saint? Grow a spine Kirin. The little shit will live through it. A little beating will loosen his lips." Nian was staring at his brother. Kirin knew nothing he said would change Nian's mind.

"Give me one more chance." He had a determined look in his eyes and Nian sighed.

"One. You've got tomorrow morning and that's it." Kirin looked relieved at his brother's words. Nian was watching him carefully.

"Kirin. Don't get attached." He warned his brother. Kirin held shock in his eyes. He wasn't getting attached, he couldn't have been. He was keeping this professional right? The friendship was just a tool to get Akito to talk. That was it. That's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

The boy felt a chill run down his spine. He let out a rough cough and shuddered. He had a bad feeling and he just couldn't explain why. His little room wasn't exactly helping him, but it wasn't like he was new to being contained in a small place. Compared to what he'd been locked in before, this was as good as the Taj Mahal. Well, maybe it didn't smell as nice. His stomach growled and he tried to sooth the grumblings with a gentle "shhh" but that did little to calm the rumbling. At last the door opened and he looked up to see the familiar face of Kirin walking towards him with the tray he had grown so used to seeing. He smiled.

"Good morning" he greeted. Kirin just nodded and sat down.

"Akito. I want you to talk to me today. Alright?" He said as he held the tray. Akito frowned a bit. He always talked to Kirin. Why wouldn't he today?

"Yeah Kirin. Can I have my rice now?" He asked, tipping his head to the side. Kirin sighed and let his smile finally appear.

"How'd you know it was rice?" He placed the tray on the ground, revealing the bowl. Akito exhaled a single chuckle as he bent down to eat. The portion was small today. When he finished, Kirin just sat beside him in silence. Akito turned to look at him.

"What's wrong Kirin?" He had never acted this way before. The entire time Kirin had been bringing Akito his meals, he'd always been eager to start a conversation.

"I told you. I want you to talk today." Kirin turned his hazel eyes to focus on Akito's concerned face. He was looking at him with _concern_. It just didn't fit their roles in this messed up game.

"What do you want to talk about?" Akito's tone lacked any of the wariness it usually held when Kirin was so upfront about searching for information.

"Your neighborhood. Your family. You. Tell me where you live Akito." Kirin was being direct today. Akito was confused by this sudden change in tactics.

"I can't do that Kirin." Akito was calm with his reply. He continued to watch Kirin as if he was looking out for a friend, which only made Kirin grow angry inside.

"Why not?" He said in a steely tone. Akito didn't even flinch.

"I have people important to me. I want to protect them" his answer was honest and Kirin covered his face with his hand, gripping the sides of his head as he let out a groan. He moved the hand further up through his hair and exhaled.

"Akito, you should think about protecting yourself" he said with his eyes closed and his voice calmed. His tone was back to normal. Akito felt relieved. He didn't know what was bothering Kirin, but he hoped whatever it was would resolve itself.

"How about you just tell me something from your life. No names needed." Kirin smiled at Akito and Akito in turn smiled back. He couldn't say no to that request today.

"My best and closest friend lets me sleep over all the time. He's my sky, but I don't think I mean the same to him as he does to me. I like spending time with him and showing him how thankful I am for the doors he opened for me. He doesn't really like some of the ways I show my thanks though." Akito chuckled a little bit, but continued. "I snuck into his room and laid down next to him. It's comforting to have him so close you know? Well, when he woke up and saw me beside him, he freaked out. His face was really funny and I swear he yelled so loud the house shook" Akito giggled again.

"Akito…what about your parents? Tell me something about them" The blonde hadn't heard the faintest whisper of the boy's parents. Akito never said a drop about them. Most of his stories were about his best friend and his regular friends. He heard a few about his brother, but nobody else. The way he spoke just now, of finding comfort beside his best friend, made Kirin wonder if his parents were attentive at all or if he was just protecting them by avoiding them as a topic. He glanced at Akito, watching the boy stare at the door blankly.

"Is that who you normally call? Do parents give you money when you steal their possessions?" Akito never looked at Kirin and Kirin let his eyes wander to the door as well.

"Yeah…." He answered and they sat in silence for a moment until Kirin finally spoke up.

"I'm not going to get anything out of you ever am I?" Kirin's lips formed a small line, the edges just barely turning up.

"No. I'm sorry Kirin. I won't put them in harm's way." Akito heard Kirin stand and soon saw him walking towards the door. Kirin let the door creak open and glanced one last time towards Akito. He smiled again and Akito smiled back. Something felt off, but neither said anything as the door shut. Akito was left alone again. Physically alone, but never mentally alone.

"Something isn't right today. Kirin was acting weird."

'_He might be trying to trip us up Akito. Changing his tactics to catch us off guard.'_

"Yeah…"

* * *

After Kirin left the room, he only reached the base of the steps before being confronted by his brother.

"Let me guess. Nothing." Nian's voice was featureless as he stood there, arms crossed. Kirin's silence was answer enough. "I told you not to get attached, little brother" Nian reached a hand up and placed it on his brother's short blonde hair.

"I'm not. Go ahead and do what you have to." Kirin's words may have been what Nian wanted to hear, but the manner in which Kirin said them was forced not to mention Kirin wouldn't look at Nian. The older sibling sighed and patted Kirin on the head a single time, then walked down the remaining stair and headed towards the door. "You gave it your best shot Kirin." He offered as he rested his hand on the door. Kirin didn't respond. Instead he just headed upstairs. Nian headed inside. He stared at the boy in the dress. Akito had his eye closed. Nian grinned. He was going to enjoy himself.

* * *

Akito had closed his eye for just a moment. He needed just a single moment to collect his thoughts and talk to Agito in peace. His moment wasn't very long. He felt his hair being grabbed and his face being forced down. He met the stone floor with a nasty thud as his head rebounded from the impact. His voice had let out a surprised squeak and his eye burst open to stare at his attacker. He knew this man. It was the guy from days ago who gave him food the first time he was fed here. It was the guy who knocked him down when he was still free out in the town. He wasn't scowling at him today though. Today the man had a grin on his face. One that Agito usually wore.

The man bent down and gripped Akito's chin, forcing the boy's head back painfully as he looked him over. Akito had one of those classic pretty-boy faces.

"You should've stuck with pretending to be a girl you little shit. I might have taken it easy on you" He purred. Akito didn't even have time to blink as he felt the man's foot strike his gut. Akito let out a gasp as his breath was knocked out of him. The man kicked him again, sending Akito to the floor. He felt a hand on his throat and soon his back was against the wall. Air struggled to get down to his lungs and he couldn't make out what the man was saying to him. He tried to cough but even that proved difficult.

"Come on you piece of shit. Tell me what I want to know." The man hissed. Akito didn't respond and the man's punches didn't stop. Akito slumped down to the ground and the main stomped on his stomach. The boy wheezed and at last tried to move away from the mad man. This brought on around of laughter from behind him. His wrists stung like fire as the manacles that had them bound bit into his flesh. The man gave a forceful tug on the chain and Akito's head received another bump courtesy of the floor. His face whipped to the side and received another bruise courtesy of the man's foot. The boy didn't move for a while.

"Aww come now bitch, don't tell me you're done already. You still haven't talked to me" The man taunted as he swung his leg down for yet another kick. The child suddenly rolled backwards in a summersault, letting the man kick empty air. The boy quickly dashed around his assaulter and jumped over the chain that had him bound to the wall. With a spin, the chain tightened around the man's foot and sent him falling to the ground.

"HAH! Take that you fucking idiot!" howled the child as he let out a roar of laughter. The man stared at the kid in shock, but it soon disappeared into rage. He grabbed the chain again, freeing his foot and pulled the child closer to him. The boy wasn't as easy to handle this time around. He was pulling back… for a moment at least. He turned around and charged at the man, head butting him straight in the chest. Agito smiled as the breath left the man and this time it was his knee that dug into his enemy's gut. The man growled and grabbed the offending appendage. Agito let out a curse. As experienced as he was, his body was tired, hungry, and already thrashed. He couldn't stop himself from being thrown to the ground and was kicked as far as the chain would allow. Instead of crying out in pain as the man had expected, the child before him started to laugh. His laugh sounded demented and as he rolled over to face him, he was smiling.

"You really want to know where I live? Who the fuck my parents are? Guess what dumbass, I don't have parents! I don't have a house! There's nobody you can fucking call you asstard!" He howled before laughing again. The man stormed over and once again stomped on the boy's chest. This time, the child reeled his own legs back and aimed a kick at the man in the crotch. He grinned in delight as the man cursed.

"So you think you're smart you piece of shit?" Growled the man as he soon returned. Agito smirked in response. The man glared down at the boy, and Agito stood up and stared defiantly back, a predator's gaze in his own eye. He saw the punch coming even without dropping his staring contest and he moved to step away.

"FUCK" He coughed as the blow hit him anyway. Something had stopped his escape and a glance at the ground showed the culprit. The man was standing on the bottom of his dress.

"So you say nobody is going to pay a cent huh? You really are a worthless piece of shit?" The man cooed it as an insult, trying to bait the boy into giving up some more valuable information, as he gripped the front of the boy's dress and forced him to face him. Still the boy was unafraid and still he wore a smile.

"That's right. There IS no money, so you're just shit outta luck!" He said just as smoothly. He laughed once again in the man's face and didn't stop laughing as he was punched over and over again.

* * *

The door slammed open, causing the guard standing outside to literally jump.

"Shit … you've looked better" Chuckled Gio as he looked at the lovely bruise forming on Nian's face. He received a deadly glare in reply so the brunette turned to look into the room.

"…she's still alive right?" He said flatly. Nian nodded in reply and headed upstairs. Gio just continued to stare at the figure lying motionless on the floor. Their little angel was a complete mess.

A few hours later, Gio looked up from his seat in the corner of the room to find a familiar blonde walking his way.

"Nian got the information" The blonde said quietly. Gio nodded though it wasn't asked as a question.

"He did a real number on her too. Princess hasn't moved since your brother left" Gio and Kirin both glanced at the door. Kirin stepped towards it and carefully opened it.

"Kirin…" Gio started but Kirin shook his head.

"I'm just going to make sure he's still breathing." Gio couldn't stop him and it was probably for the best if the kid was checked on.

Kirin headed over to the limp body by the wall. The boy was facing away from him, but Kirin could already see the bruises forming all along his arms. The metal binding his hands had a small cluster of dried blood where the cuffs had continuously grinded against his wrists and the skin around them looked red and raw. The dress had lost its luster days ago, the crinoline flattened and clung to the thin silky fabric, and the feathery decorative overlays were officially gone, scattered about the room. The boy's dirty hair was a complete and total mess. Kirin sighed as he knelt down. Carefully he reached out a hand to gently touch the kid's shoulder and roll Akito over onto his back.

"Don't touch me"

Kirin froze at the sound.

"Akito… Are you alright?" He clenched his hand and finally pulled it away from the boy.

"I'm fucking peachy. Get lost Kirin." The boy growled, though he didn't move. He couldn't move. His whole body was a giant bruise. It hurt just to breathe. When the boy noticed Kirin hadn't moved he let his hands clench into fists behind his back.

"Fuck. I said leave. GO! Get OUT of here you FUCKING BASTARD!" He screamed, wincing at the pain radiating from his bruised ribs.

Kirin stared at Akito as he stood. Slowly he turned and left the room.

* * *

**Kit: I'm sorry I made you guys wait so long, but I've decided I'm not going to post any more chapters unless they're over 5000 words or damn well close. That's my new standard. So here you go, a nice long chapter for your patience. **

**I want to hear your opinions on the story. What do you think of the characters, the situation, the writing? Reviews put me in the typing mood, so leave your feedback!**

**EDIT:: Picture of Gio, Kirin, and Nian:: **hawaiianbabidoll . deviantart . com/art/Kidnapped-The-Trio-197922641 **(Delete the spaces around the periods)**


	7. A Chained Demon

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear.  
**

* * *

Quietly, two brothers stared at each other across the table. One seemed bored, the other conflicted. For awhile, the two just sat in silence until at last the younger of the two spoke up.

"You over did it Nian" said the conflicted brother. He couldn't stop thinking about his brief encounter with Akito and how the kid looked completely battered. He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered the utter hatred in the child's voice when he had spoken to him. He had never heard Akito use that tone before.

"I didn't. He was stubborn. I did what I had to in order to break him. Look on the bright side of things, little brother. Now you won't have to play pretend friends with the little whelp." Nian lifted his cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. His brother looked away. He hadn't visited their captive in three days. He had no idea what Akito thought about him now.

"….yeah" He finally mumbled. Akito wasn't his friend so it didn't matter what he thought of him. Akito was just …just what?

"We're moving him by the way. Out of this town and closer to a bigger city." Nian informed his sibling. Kirin looked surprised.

"Why? You said yourself there's nobody to bribe, so why do we still even have him? Why can't we just dump him back on the streets?" Kirin asked. Why couldn't they just let him go already?

"Kirin come now. Everything has value, including that vermin downstairs. He's what some bastards call 'petite with a pretty face'. I'm sure once he's cleaned up he'd make a cute pet for someone with deep pockets and unusual tastes." Nian smiled as he exhaled smoke. He glanced at Kirin who didn't seem too pleased with their latest plan of earning some quick cash.

"Kirin. It's not like we can just let the little shit go. He knows our faces. He'd go to the cops. The alternative is to kill him and personally I'd rather make some sort of profit from all this." Nian said calmly as he took another drag of his cigarette. Kirin excused himself and headed upstairs into the private lounge. It was here that he laid on the couch for well over an hour, and it was here that he was found by none other than his cohort in crime.

"Hey. You know… you're taking this a little hard ain't ya? Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for the 'angel'." Came the voice as someone sat down beside the sprawled mess of a person. Kirin moved his arms away from his eyes to look up at Gio.

"I'm just tired. It's been a long frustrating couple of days." He said flatly and Gio laughed.

"Yeah tell me about it. Count yourself lucky that you haven't had to play guard the past few days. Whatever the hell Nian did to her made her completely snap. Sure she was quiet the first night, but all hell broke loose when she was finally able to move again" Gio shook his head and chuckled again. Kirin was curious now. He knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help it. He asked Gio what was different and Gio sighed as he began.

"Well for one thing, she spends her free time tugging at the chains. I expected that kinda shit when we first caught her yet she didn't try once back then. It's weird she's trying to break them now… but anyway, the second thing is if she catches anyone looking in on her she becomes a waterfall of profanities. Don't matter if you look away and lean back against the wall, she just keeps on shouting to the high heavens. I'm seriously shocked the music can drain her out." Gio shook his head again and rubbed his temples. He was starting to miss the old angel. This new one was just too feisty. Where did a kid learn that kind of language anyway? Their angel 2.0 swore worse than a sailor. A really mean sailor in a particularly nasty storm.

Kirin had finally sat up, straightening himself on the couch and thinking over the changes Gio was describing. He was still in his thoughts when he heard the brunette speaking to him again.

"Maybe you should visit her again."

That sentence made Kirin stare at Gio. Nian had said he thought it was a bad idea for Kirin to continue the charade and Gio had readily agreed. That alone was enough to ring warning bells in Kirin's head. When those two agreed he knew it was serious. They thought Kirin was getting too close to this and there was no point in him talking with Akito anymore anyway.

"Why? What good would that do?" He finally asked.

"Well I just wanna see if you can make it out alive" Gio replied with a grin. Kirin was confused.

"Dude, the last three people I sent in to feed that little monster were all attacked. The last guy came out with a broken nose and a sprained ankle…. She's getting harder to control" His smile faded and he looked serious now. Gio was unnerved by the child. He had always found the kid interesting and kind of odd, but he had never suspected how viciously she could just attack like that. Every movement was so precise. They were moving her to a new location soon and he did not want to be part of the team that had to go in there and get her. He wondered if Kirin could get the kid to come quietly. There was a fair chance Kirin's past discussions with the kid could calm her enough to control her, though he wasn't going to put much hope in this plan. Kirin folded his hands and rested them against his chin, elbows planted firmly on his knees. He thought about it for a few minutes, trying to decide what was better for their job, trying to pull those reasons away from his own personal reasons. At last he decided.

"Alright. That's no problem. It'll be nice to have something to do again" Kirin said softly with a gentle nod of his head.

* * *

Agito's skull was pounding. Ever since that dick with the blonde hair and braid came in and whacked him with a gun, the dull throb of a headache just wouldn't leave. It didn't help that Agito would not stop his hollering and thrashing about whenever he had enough energy. The man that had moved his eye patch by accident during their first little one sided fight had returned the next day with a gun. Even at gunpoint Agito had laughed in the man's face. He hadn't believed Agito when he said nobody was going to give him shit in order to have him back. It wasn't until he reminded the man that he had been missing for well over a week and nobody had reported him to the police that the man finally seemed to accept the answer. The blonde was instantly suspicious, questioning how he had known nothing had been reported to the cops. He didn't like Agito's reply of just quiet chuckling. Agito and Akito had figured it out pretty easily though. Why else would they send in that other younger prissy blonde to try to weasel out information from Akito all week? The gun wielding bastard didn't like Agito's attitude and knocked him out with a blow to the head with that shiny metal pistol. Agito was used to being hit so it didn't really take long to recover.

Agito growled as he thought about that son of a bitch. Suddenly a loud noise interrupted his thoughts. He glanced down at his stomach and glared at the noisy disturbance. His glaring did little to stop it from growling at him.

"Okay fine…. Maybe I went a bit overboard with the last guy." Agito muttered to himself.

'_Agito… you made him pee himself.'_

Agito smiled at the memory. He hadn't been given anything the day after his encounter with the blonde gun toting menace, but the following morning breakfast was brought down by a new guy. Agito thought his expression was too smug and quickly chewed him out. He also decided purple suited him better and crippled his body with bruises. The man left in a hurry but Agito didn't get to eat the food. It had splattered onto the ground during Agito's attack. Dinner didn't go any better. That morning yet another new face had come in with a tray of slop. He must have been warned about the boy's latent savagery because he had looked terrified. Agito had played coy until the man had placed down the tray. For a moment the guy had seemed relieved but it didn't last. He left with a bloody nose, bruised ribs, a twisted ankle, and in need of a new pair of pants. Agito had felt accomplished. He managed to scare someone, beat someone up, and get a bite to eat all in ten short minutes.

But now they were afraid of him.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to carve my road so deep in that fucker's body nobody will be able to recognize him." Agito growled, letting his voice echo off the walls. He vented his hunger and irritation at the entire situation at that one guy who had attacked him and Akito. He was glad the patch had moved during the battle. He had hated that feeling of utter uselessness as his lighter half was beaten down while he just watched. A movement caught his eye and he stared at the shadow standing at the door. He grinned. Who was the next toy they had sent for him to break?

"And here I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me." He purred with bitter sarcasm. "Hurry up. I've been bored all by myself. Let's play" He added giving one of his demented fanged grins. It faltered and his eye widened as a familiar face appeared. Instantly he was quiet and his slitted pupil tracked the blonde boy as he approached.

"Good evening Akito" greeted that voice. That voice that had become so familiar and to Akito, a slight comfort. Agito frowned and glared at the older boy as he sat down just as he had always done the past week. As if nothing had happened to change their routine.

"You've already gotten your precious details about my lack of family. What the fuck are you doing here Kirin" Agito said with a flat dead tone. He didn't even give the food a glance. His amber gaze was locked on the man who had stood by while Akito had been tortured.

"What do you want to talk about today?" he asked in his calm patient tone. Agito stomped to his feet and glared down at Kirin.

"Listen to me you bastard! You think now that it's been a few days you can just come in here and play buddy buddy?" snarled Agito. Kirin just glanced up at Agito with a smile. Agito growled and kicked Kirin down so he was flat on his back with Agito's foot planted on his chest.

"What are you trying to do? There's nothing to be gained from this bullshit." Agito hissed venomously. He stared at Kirin with a narrowed eye, waiting for an answer. Kirin was still calm.

"I haven't talked to you in awhile so I thought I'd say hello," came the blonde's reply. Agito glared down at Kirin and let out a growl.

"You fucking Liar" He hissed. He stepped away from him and walked over to the side of his prison, not bothering to look over as he listened to Kirin sit back up. After a moment, Kirin stood and walked over to the blue haired boy. First he glanced at the cuffs which had managed to grow even more grotesque since he last looked at them three days ago. Akito's skin was a mix of yellow and purple from the fading bruises and dried blood was plastered on the left side of his face and hair. He knew Nian had come back down to pay Akito another visit and that nasty looking bump on his head must have been his parting gift to Akito. He reached out a hand and gently touched Akito's hair, but the boy flinched under the touch and immediately pulled away. He turned to face Kirin once more, body posture completely guarded. Any step Kirin took towards him, the boy would take a step away, moving in a circle to ensure he wouldn't be pinned against the wall. Kirin smiled. Once again he was proving he was a very bright kid.

"Really Akito… I'm not going to hurt you." He offered, though it only received a forced 'HAH' in reply. The boy forced a smirk on his lips as a distrusting glint lit his eye.

"Of course not. You call in that other blonde bastard with the braid when you want me roughed up right?" He said with a dark accusing tone. For a moment Kirin seemed hurt at the accusation but it was only for a flicker of a second and it was replaced with that calm mask he had been wearing all day.

"I told him he shouldn't. I told him we didn't need to hurt you. Nian didn't think you'd talk any other way. Believe me when I say I disagree with his methods." He said as he watched the boy who he had once talked so freely with carefully walk around him, eyes wary and disbelieving.

"What a load of bullshit. So you're trying to tell me you're not the bad guy here?" Agito started as he stepped over the chain on the ground and continued to circle Kirin like a shark. "You're saying just because you didn't think it was a good idea that it's still okay that you stood by while that bastard attacked a defenseless child who was chained to a fucking wall and half starved?" He snarled, his expression steadily growing angrier. It was a look that should never be on the face of a child so young.

"Akito…" Kirin started, his voice kind, only to be cut off. The boy before him suddenly lifted his arms behind him, gripped the chain connected to his cuffs, and pulled. The movement had been so fast, Kirin had just enough time to blink before he felt the chain that kept Akito connected to the wall tightened around his arms and body.

"Fuck! Stop it! Don't act so fucking friendly with me. I'm not a dumb little kid, I know that you're trying to manipulate me and it won't work." The boy had stopped circling him. Instead he continued to pull the chain, letting the metal crush against Kirin… though with Agito in the state he was in, malnourished and tired, it wasn't as effective as he had wanted. Seconds later the door slammed open and the goggle wearing guy was charging in calling out to Kirin. He grabbed the chain and gave it a powerful yank, pulling Agito backward and making the boy stumble, though he did not actually fall down. The chain binding Kirin slackened and finally clattered to the ground. Gio grabbed Kirin's arm and pulled him away from the child who just stood still where he was, glaring at Kirin.

"Akito humored you and put up with your bullshit, but I won't." He hissed even as Gio was urging Kirin out the door.

* * *

"Jeezes god that kid is messed up. Do you believe me _now_ Kirin?" Gio exclaimed as he stared at the door that was the only barrier between them and the demon within. Kirin rubbed his arms where the chains had pinned them against his body. He finally let the shudder he had managed to withhold travel through his body.

"There is no way that's Akito." He said, voicing his denial. Gio clapped him on the shoulder.

"I guess we'll just slide the food over next time. She's –"

"He"

Gio stared at Kirin and cracked a lop-sided grin. "Seriously going to correct me after I saved you from the demon in the dress?"

"Oh so he's not your little angel anymore?" Kirin asked, though his mind was still trying to grasp something the blue haired child had said earlier. His parting sentence had been strange.

" Well…" Gio shrugged and folded his arms behind his head. "Hey. You know what I don't get? You said she had a lot of friends…but now she's saying nobody wants her. What about those friends?"

Kirin looked up at Gio. He made a valid point. And what about the stories about how he has to be quick at dinner? All this time Kirin had thought he was being the tricky one, luring Akito out into the open to get him to talk… but had it been himself that had been being played the entire time?

"I guess he was just lying to us. Nian was right." He said with one last blank look towards the door. He headed back upstairs leaving Gio alone in his guard duties.

"Booooo." Gio groaned as he slumped against the wall. "You could have at least kept me company a little longer ya jerk" He called after his friend, though Kirin was most likely out of earshot. He turned his head towards the door. Once again he couldn't help but think of how precise the kid's movements had been. Even in that injured state. How could that kid not be in pain with all those bruises? Gio had also noticed blood on Akito's face. Their angel was the farthest thing from angelic now. He glanced at the window of the door, tempted to look in yet wary at the same time. Carefully he approached the door but he shook his head. Why was he bothering with caution? It wasn't like that demon angel could do anything. He looked through the little window with confidence. Akito was there, bent over something on the ground. The tray of food. Gio had almost forgotten the reason Kirin had even entered the room. Gio continued to watch as the kid ripped into the bread, swallowing large chunks without bothering to chew. The kid stopped suddenly and looked up, catching Gio's eyes. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity to the brunette, dark brown eyes locked with a single cold predator's. Gio leaned back against the wall. He decided he much preferred it when Akito shouted profanities at him over that look.

* * *

Agito continued to glare at the door long after that nosy goggle guy had fled from his field of vision. He straightened himself and began pacing back and forth. His muscles screamed in protest, wanting nothing more than to sleep for an entire week or two, but Agito couldn't stand still. He couldn't stand being in the same spot for so long. All he had seen the past however long he was trapped here was the same god forsaken walls. Yes, he had been caged before, but not like this. This type of confinement was far worse than anything Kaito had ever done. He listened as the chain dragged across the ground. It just made him more frustrated. He grabbed it with his hands as best he could and began thrashing it about in a vain attempt to vent his frustration. All that accomplished was making the metal cuffs dig against his wrists. Not that it mattered. His wrists had gone numb awhile ago. He vaguely wondered how nasty they looked right now. He growled as he walked closer to the door, as close as he could before the chain pulled him back.

"Hey." He said flatly. He waited and got no reply.

"Goggle dick-head. I know you're there." Agito waited again, mouth twitching into another snarl as he grew impatient. At last the brunette peeked through the window with light amusement on his guarded face.

"Surprise surprise. You've never wanted to talk to me before angel." The man said, though the way he said 'angel' was forced and not as playful as the way he usually said it.

"Cut the shit. What's the point? Kill me or free me. You already know there's no money." Agito said flatly earning that look of surprise that he'd been receiving quite often since arriving in this dump. Gio truly was surprised. Surprised that Akito could so freely accept they might try to just kill the kid.

"We're not going to kill you angel… don't worry, you're not as worthless as you think." He said smoothly, and at last a small trickle of a smile made its way to his face. Agito narrowed his eye and almost smiled himself as the man's own grin faded.

"What makes you think that?" He said darkly, his voice calm yet demanding an answer.

"Did you know most people have some strange quirks? It's usually the wealthy, probably because they have the money to feed their little habits. The black market is where they go to find the materials for those habits. If you're lucky, maybe the habit you'll feed will be something like being a living dress up doll or a cute little pet. My heart goes out to ya kid, I hope you get a good master" He said with an insincere wink. Agito stared as he understood those words. He let out a soft 'fuck' as he turned away and continued his pacing. So they were going to sell him were they? That was fine. Once he was unchained from this goddamned wall he could make his escape. They couldn't be far from the crow's place. He'd been in the same room so clearly they hadn't moved him. He'd been over this town plenty of times on his ATs so he was confident he could find his way back to the Noyamano house. Walking there was going to be a bitch though.

* * *

Gio smirked at the pacing child. Always the interesting one, that demon angel. He could tell Akito knew what was coming and she probably had an inkling about it even without his not so subtle hints. He pitied the person who would end up owning her. Sure he did honestly hope she got a decent master, but the mouth on that kid was bound to piss someone off. The more Gio thought about the kid the more baffling she became. Catching her had been so simple, but had she fought them off like she fought off her feeders _with her hands tied behind her back_ no less, she probably could have escaped back to… wherever she lived. It was just too strange for her to be behaving so different. Maybe Nian had really broken her… but then, the way the kid fought almost looked as if she was trained. Gio groaned and held his head. This was too freaking confusing.

"Aww poor baby has a headache?" Mocked a voice from the steps. Gio lazily opened his eyes to look at Nian.

"Do you really think someone is gonna buy her with the way she keeps cursing and lashing out like that?" He asked, ignoring the blonde's comment. Nian rolled his eyes and walked over to the side of the steps, opening something beneath them.

"They don't need to know about his personality quirks. We can just keep the little prick sedated." He glanced at Gio with a superior look in his eye. Gio crossed his arms and stared back.

"Don't act so smug just because you have one good idea. Here's my idea, we should sell her off as a biological weapon." He scoffed and Nian just continued to smirk and went back to what he was doing.

"Gio…get my brother" Nian finally said as he pulled out what looked like a strong belt of fabric with a nozzle on the end. Gio raised an eyebrow at Nian.

"Now tell me dear Nian… since when have I ever taken orders from you?" He purred. At last a look of annoyance crossed the blonde's face and he glared at Gio. With a huff he threw down what was in his hands and stormed upstairs. Gio chuckled before making his way over to investigate. He bent down and realized what it was. A hose. The type with a durable skin and a forceful flow. They weren't uncommon in commercial areas like this just in case there's a fire. He straightened and stretched his arms over his head, meandering back to his place by the door. The kid had started pacing again. Gio wondered just how much energy Akito had. He glanced up as the Shou siblings finally came back down. Kirin didn't really look like he wanted to be there at the moment and Gio couldn't really blame him.

"You can hold it or you can turn it on" Nian said calmly to his little brother who ran a hand through his reddish blonde hair. Gio felt out of the loop.

"What's up? What is that demented little mind of Nian's thinking up now?" Gio asked Kirin, expecting better results from asking his friend over his grouchy accomplice.

"We're moving the boy later tonight, so we're cleaning everything." Kirin summed up nice and quick as he headed towards the side of the stairs where the knob to control the water flow sat waiting.

" Ahh. We can't exactly leave any traces that we trapped a demon angel down here. I see. What about Akito. Any ideas on how to get her to come quiet? I doubt she's just gonna let you walk up and sedate her." Gio glanced at Kirin first. When the younger brother just shrugged and shook his head, Gio looked over to Kirin.

"And you Mr. I-has-a-great-idea-today? Got any tricks for catching demons?" He waited for Nian to reply, but the older blonde only smiled in that twisted way that Gio recognized. Apparently Nian did have an idea. That sucked. Now Gio would have to put up with his cockiness until he outshined him again.

"Why didn't you just ask Gio to help?" Kirin's words brought the attention of both other boys in the room to stare at him. Then they turned and glared at each other. Kirin shook his head but couldn't suppress that faint smile. "You know… this is a high pressure hose. You will need help to hold onto this thing. Gio, could you?" Kirin faced the two. Nian looked utterly opposed to the idea and that was why Gio readily agreed. Anything to annoy his favorite target. He scooped up a bit of the hose and glanced back into the chamber. The kid wasn't looking at them anymore. Akito was standing still, facing the back wall.

"Alright. Let's get started. Hopefully the kid will be smart enough to stay out of the way of the water." Gio noted as he stood behind Nian with the flat bit of hose held tight in his hands. He didn't catch the grin that spread across Nian's face as he opened the door and headed inside.

* * *

Agito paced back and forth in the room for the umpteenth time that day. His eye kept flicking over to the door. He could hear them talking, at least three distinct voices. One was Kirin. He ground his teeth together until at last he stopped and just stood still. Akito was right. He would wear himself out if he kept this up. He sighed and closed his eye, focusing on the voice that shared this body with him. Moving the eye patch back and forth was a much easier way to talk to Akito, surprisingly. He didn't like cutting himself off from the real world to talk in his head. Akito was much better at talking in his mind than Agito. Maybe Agito was just too paranoid to sit by for the length of a full conversation. He took another deep breath.

'_We have to keep up our energy so we can make our move.'_ Akito whispered into Agito's thoughts.

Agito nodded. "The best time would be when they try to move us to wherever they're going to sell us." He replied quietly, still casting glances over his shoulder to check on their captors.

'_We will have to hide immediately after our escape. If we try to run in our condition, they'll catch us.'_ Akito said as the duo continued to think about their plans.

"Yeah, or I could just knock the shit out of them" Agito offered.

'_No Agito, be serious. We have a much better chance of getting to safety if we use our energy sparingly. Hiding is the best bet.' _Akito was the voice of reason in this chaotic mind.

Agito sighed but nodded. He knew Akito was right. He probably could take out a few of those guys, but if a whole bunch came at him, how well could he do in his state?

'_I can't wait to get back. I'm going to crawl straight into Ikki's bed as soon as we're home.'_

"What the fuck Akito, focus!" Agito barked, clearly irritated at his other self's fantasies.

"Cursing yourself out now? I didn't scramble your brain by accident did I?" chuckled a voice that made Agito's blood boil. He spun around to face the door, glaring at the blonde man with a single braid hanging by his face. In the doorway, the goggle wearing guy was watching curiously. Agito snarled at him and stepped closer, only to be reminded by the clink of metal that he could not reach the man.

"Ooh so scary. Here, maybe I can fix you with this" He said sardonically as he patted the heavy looking metal nozzle. He made some weird motion to someone out of view, who Agito assumed had to be Kirin, before stepping closer and closer. Agito waited patiently, knowing the limits of his leash. The man stepped even closer. There. Agito started his charge, racing towards the man who only smiled back. He pulled something on the nozzle and Agito felt his whole body fly backwards as pressurized water pinned him against the wall.

* * *

**Kit: So much Agito abuse…. Sorry Agito! **

**PS: Pressurized hoses hurt like hell. Now just imagine if you had bruised ribs while getting hit. **


	8. Moving Day

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear. **

* * *

It burned.

It burned so bad and yet he could do nothing to fight against it. The pressure had him literally pressed against the wall, unable to even take a fraction of a step forward. The water itself was chilling but his skin felt like it had been lit on fire. For a split second, that agonizing stream was raised to his face, sending his cheek straight against the wall until at last he slumped to the ground in a wet heap. His body twitched just slightly from the cold coursing through his enflamed skin as the boy released a series of violent coughs. The pain from the bump on his head he had received a few days ago was back with a vengeance. With heavy breaths he splashed his way to a standing position, glaring at the wielder of that awful jet of force, unable to do anything as the water struck him full in the chest a second time. The man was stepping closer, making the pressure from that damned hose even more intense until at last a single hoarse cry escaped the boy's mouth. The stream moved and once again the water beat against his face, threatening to tear the very skin off his bones. The water stopped suddenly and the boy fell to his knees, collapsing into an awkward slouch. He could hear voices, possibly someone yelling, but he couldn't make out what was being said. His golden eyes just stared wide and blank, open and yet unseeing. His whole body involuntarily shook from the strange mixture of scorching pain and the icy chill. Then the child did not move at all.

* * *

"Why the hell did you tell Kirin to turn off the water?" Nian snarled as he turned on the brunette standing behind him. He had only just begun his fun only to have it cut off so quickly but the brown haired idiot.

"Hel~lo, we kinda want to keep her in one piece. Shit Nian, how the hell do you expect to get any money for her if you keep roughing her up like that?" Gio responded indignantly as he dropped the hose and crossed his arms. He stared at Nian, meeting the other's glare with an equally cold glare of his own. Nian clenched his teeth, knowing Gio was right but loathing to admit it. The boy would sell for more if he was in decent condition, he knew that. He grudgingly accepted that the sooner his visible bruises healed up the sooner they would be rid of the little shit.

"Fine. You want to take care of this prick then I leave all the cleaning to you and Kirin. That includes taking care of packing up the kid," Nian growled as he let the heavy hose tip clatter to the ground. He stalked passed Gio and headed up the stairs.

Gio turned and watched him go, frowning at him as he left.

"Damn, just cause he doesn't get to play doesn't mean he can shlip off all the cleaning duties to us…and I sure as hell don't want to be the one to move her…" mumbled the goggle wearing man. He turned back to glance at Akito. The kid hadn't moved, not even to look up.

"Hey. Angel." Gio called to the child, keeping his stance by the door. He wasn't going to fall for her tricks like his little underlings did. He waited a moment, but she didn't respond.

"A~ngel. … anyone home over there?" He taunted playfully with a smirk. Once again he was completely disregarded. He cocked his head as he surveyed the child. She was deathly still except for the occasional shiver.

"You alright kid?" He finally started moving closer, each step wary. He stopped halfway between the door and Akito, leaning over slightly to look at the child

" Come on~ I'll give you a cookie later if you talk to me now." He baited. He huffed as his bribe was ignored and the kid continued to stare blankly at the floor. Gio was close enough to realize something was off and his curiosity got the better of him. He walked over to Akito, still slumped over on the ground. He bent down about a foot in front of the captive, leaning his arms on his knees. He whistled, trying to gain the kid's attention. Still no luck.

"What the hell's the point of it? Seriously…" Gio started as he stared at the child's face, watching as the boy shivered again. He leaned his head further down, trying to get a good look at Akito's dripping wet face. At last he was acknowledged, though the acknowledgement was brief. The child's right eye had slitted like a cat's, locking onto Gio for a moment, but quickly returned to staring at what looked like nothing. That single moment under such a demonic gaze was all Gio needed to jump back.

"Kirin. Something's wrong with her." He finally called after another moment of surveying their angel and noting she still hadn't moved from her spot on the floor even when he had been right in front of her. Kirin sighed as he made his way to the door.

"What?" He asked flatly, looking at Gio and waiting calmly.

"I dunno. She's not really… responding right is all." He said as he once more began to approach the chained up captive. He hesitated a moment when the child shivered again, but continued on until he was standing beside Akito. Carefully he reached out a hand and rested it on Akito's head. Surprisingly the only response he got was the tiniest of flinches and for all Gio knew it could have been an automatic response. Gio was well aware Nian had hit her in the head and he was betting it was still sore.

Kirin watched with growing curiosity as Akito let Gio rest his hand on his head when he wouldn't even let anyone touch him earlier. Kirin's shoulders drooped as his curiosity won out and at last he made his way over to investigate. He walked briskly and without hesitation until he was kneeling in front of the boy.

"Akito?" He said calmly before blinking in surprise. Gio looked at Kirin, leaning his arm casually on Akito's head as he addressed his friend.

"I dunno man. I mean, it's not even like it's cute or anything. Nothing looks wrong with her at all right?" Gio said, motioning to Akito. Kirin furrowed his brow before he tipped his head at another realization. Akito wasn't staring at nothing… he was staring at the eye patch that sat dead center on his face. Both eyes were wide open and both were trained on that little sodden scrap of white. Kirin just didn't understand it. Akito's eyes both looked completely fine, so why the patch? The boy shivered again and Kirin noticed that with each shiver Akito just barely leaned either left or right.

"A…Agi"

Kirin blinked at the tiny sound that stuttered its way through the boy's lips, but soon Akito was silent again. The boy was turning his head, the movement jerky and slow and his left eye flickered to Kirin for a fraction of a second. Kirin jerked in surprise at the familiarity in that eye. He suddenly trained his gaze on the right eye, which was narrowing and still slitted. The young boy's teeth clenched and suddenly he swung his head to the side. Gio jumped back away from the kid who had gone rigid again as the eye patch shifted just a bit further over that left eye. Now the body was continuously shaking with the occasional forceful jerk of the head. Kirin stared in astonishment at the two eyes sitting on the boy's face. The left one looked pleading, desperate even. The right one looked victorious as the body started to straighten up a bit. Kirin decided right then and there to move the patch himself, covering the narrowed slitted eye. He doubted it would do anything, but that single angry eye was unnerving.

The boy gasped and instantly fell forward against Kirin. Akito blinked a few times, a wide golden eye trying its best to focus. At last he looked up at the completely confused face of the blonde.

"…Kirin?" He asked as if he was unsure. Agito had won control, Akito was almost positive, and yet he was the one in the real world right now. He smiled that same warm grin that Kirin hadn't seen in days as he mumbled a thank you. Akito leaned back so he was sitting up by himself again. His body hurt and he flinched as the pain reminded him just how badly he was injured. He thought a moment about trying to stand, but he honestly doubted he had the strength. He took deep breaths, trying to deal with the aching sensation that rippled through his body. Why had Agito always wanted to handle this kind of pain himself? The two personalities had both been vying for control of the body, both trying to protect the other. Akito had known there was no fighting the abuse, but the least he could do was take it himself. He looked up at Kirin again, then to Gio.

"Who… stopped him? The man with the hose?" He asked. Both of the other men were just staring at the child. Gio glanced at Kirin, but the other was too busy pondering something to notice. He returned his attention to Akito. The kid's tone of voice was completely different. It was more like the one she had that first week, albeit a bit more strained and tired.

"Gio did." Kirin said turning his head to survey Akito's reaction, particularly the boy's expression and eye. Akito's attention jumped to Kirin as he spoke, but quickly returned to the brunette.

"Thank you. Very much." He managed to say with a smile and genuine gratitude written all over his face. He flinched back suddenly as pain shot through his body yet again. Gio sighed, rubbing his hair and walking over to bend down beside the kid.

"Yeah whatever angel." He said. He watched Kirin lift his hand and place it on Akito's head. Akito smiled under the touch and let his body relax. Gio looked at Kirin's baffled expression until the blonde pulled his hand back and immediately left the room.

"… Kirin?" Gio stood soon after, setting off after Kirin. He turned his head to glance at Akito. The child was staring after them with a concerned look. Concern for Kirin. His eyebrows creased in confusion as he faced forward and headed out the door.

* * *

"Yo. Kirin." A hand shot out and grabbed the blonde's shoulder just as he put a foot on the first step. "Talk to me." Gio said sternly, a simple command and straight to the point. Kirin hesitated but finally turned, looking passed Gio and at the door that stood slightly ajar.

"I just don't get it. Why?" Kirin said vaguely, but Gio seemed to have a general idea what he meant and he honestly had no clue either. Kirin stood still, looking down and thinking hard about what just happened.

Was it another trick? Akito's eye was so different from before. Now that he thought about it, that eye patch… what eye had it originally been covering? Kirin couldn't for the life of him remember. He hadn't paid close enough attention to that little detail. He knew one thing though. That eye he saw in there just now… that was the eye of the boy he had been talking to every morning and evening. He tried to think about the other eye. It was cold and dark, so unlike the warm and naïve left eye. He held his head, trying to straighten out his thoughts. Could an eye patch really cause such a change? That would be completely ridiculous. But then again, why bother with wearing an eye patch in the first place? It had to have a reason and this could be it no matter how illogical it sounded. Another thought rebounded to Kirin. Something the boy had said during his last encounter with him.

Kirin looked up at Gio with an unasked question. Gio had no answer as he didn't know what Kirin wanted. Kirin blinked before pushing past his friend back towards the door. He pulled it completely open. Akito had slumped all the way down to the floor, lying on his chest in the cold puddle that had formed beneath him. Gio peeked over Kirin's shoulder curiously as the blonde just monitored the child within. Kirin walked further into the room, keeping his steps as quiet as possible. Gio wasn't as quiet and a single splash made Akito's head lift out of the puddle it had been resting in. He looked up at Kirin and once again smiled. Kirin looked down at the pathetic looking scrap of a child, just quietly staring. Gio was the one to finally break the strange silence.

"Hey angel. You feeling okay?" He said, more to try to taunt the kid into being snippy with him as she had been the past few days. He was surprised when Akito tipped her head and smiled at him now.

"Not really. My body feels like it was rubbed against sand paper for a few hours" He said as he lowered his head back onto the ground. It took too much energy to hold it up any longer. Gio and Kirin looked at each other.

"And what about him? How is he feeling?" Kirin asked suddenly. Akito turned his eye up to Kirin in surprise and slight confusion, but his tiny smile soon reformed on his pale face.

"He's angry at you. For a lot of things, but right now he's mad you moved our eye patch."

Kirin looked away, his brow once again creased as his mind strung things together. Gio shook his head in confusion.

"Our? He? Who's he? Hey, what the hell are you two talking about? Fill me in on your little secret mystery person." Gio groaned as he looked between the two. He started tapping his foot to fill the silence that followed. Kirin bent down and knelt in the puddle, but Akito did not lift his head this time. He wanted to go to sleep so badly.

"Akito, when did I last visit you?" Kirin asked calmly.

"You brought food today." Akito said quietly, but Kirin shook his head.

"I asked when I last visited _you_." Kirin repeated and Gio stared at him like he was crazy. After a moment, Akito finally answered, surprising Gio yet again with the reply.

" …Right before the mean man with the narrow eyes came in and hit me the first time" Akito answered in an even more hushed voice. Akito let his eye close and slowly Kirin reached out a hand and touched the boy's head. He gently brushed his hand along Akito's soaked hair, resulting in a faint smile slipping onto the boy's face at the warmth of the touch. Kirin continued to stroke Akito's hair for a while. The boy was definitely smart enough to try to trick them, and Kirin wasn't even sure if this was really how he was or if the child was just faking the act. He glanced away from the motionless child as Gio walked over. The brunette bent down and scooped Akito up in his arms, making a face as the child's dripping hair wet his shirt. Kirin watched Gio carry the sleeping form over to a dry portion of the wall before he sat himself down and leaned back. Kirin raised an eyebrow at the sight of Gio letting the kid sleep against him like that and Gio motioned for Kirin to come over. The blonde did, sitting down beside his friend. He didn't have to actually ask Gio to get his question across. The brunette shrugged.

"She's been through a lot today. Besides the ground ain't exactly comfortable… and she'd get sick if she slept in a puddle…" Gio said nonchalantly as he shifted himself slightly. Kirin silently chuckled and leaned against the wall himself.

"And you say I'm a softie." He murmured.

"You are. I'm a realist. Like I told your brother, don't damage the merchandise. Now would you mind filling me in on the angel here? Clearly you aren't telling me something." Gio replied, keeping his voice low. Kirin sighed.

"I'm starting to wonder if there's more than one Akito." He replied honestly. Gio gave him an incredulous look before glancing at the bundle curled up on his lap.

"What like, something possessing her?" He asked and Kirin chuckled lightly.

"Possessing? I guess that's one way to put it. It's just, that time he attacked me he said something about Akito. Why would he refer to himself in third person?" Kirin voiced a question that had been nagging at him. Everything made more sense if there really was more than one Akito.

"Actually… she did that too right when me and Nian walked in with the hose. She said something directed at 'Akito'." Gio said with a nod of his head. After a moment he glanced at Kirin with a sly grin. "I told you she wasn't right in the head" Kirin rolled his eyes.

"He."

Gio chuckled as he let his eyes fall back onto the sleeping mass. Kirin couldn't argue with Gio about Akito being crazy. What if he really did have a mental disorder? What if there really were multiple people inside that little body?

* * *

The blue haired boy cuddled against the warmth and the softness of the bed. It was so much softer than the hard floor and stone wall he'd be sleeping against for however long he'd been trapped. He could feel the heat of another body beside him and made a motion to wrap his arms around Ikki whose bed he had to be in. Everything else had clearly been a dream.

Akito frowned as his arms would not come out from behind him and at last he opened his eye. He blinked rapidly, realizing he wasn't in a bed at all and Ikki was nowhere in sight. He looked up in confusion to see a smirking man with goggles hanging on his neck smirking at him.

"Have a good nap angel?" He asked. He laughed at Akito's confused expression as the child realized why the ground had felt so soft. Akito sighed and leaned against Gio again, this time fully aware of what he was doing. His body was still exhausted. Gio looked down at the child curiously, noticing that a tiny frown was on the angel's face instead of her usual smile.

"When can I go home?" Akito asked quietly. Gio looked at Akito a moment before answering just as quietly.

"After you get a new master." He watched Akito, who surprisingly didn't react as expected. The child just seemed to accept Gio's answer. He told himself he shouldn't keep being surprised by the kid.

Beside Gio, Kirin finally stirred. He jumped, startled he had fallen into a doze, but slowly calmed as he realized Gio was beside him with Akito still in his arms. He focused on the boy and offered a small guarded smile which was instantly returned with a large warm one.

"Akito, you and Kirin were talking earlier about another person. You remember? Can you tell me who that was?" Gio asked, calling Akito's attention to the brunette. Akito thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Agito," he replied simply. Kirin suddenly realized what Akito's tiny stutter meant when he was sitting in the water with the eye patch in the center of his face.

"Do you talk to Agito a lot?" Kirin asked. Gio glanced at Kirin a moment, but soon returned to await Akito's answer. He was kind of curious to hear this.

"Sometimes." Another short reply but it was still helping to slip the puzzle pieces into place.

"Can you talk to him right now?" Kirin continued to question and Akito nodded before looking off to the side as if he was listening to something. He blushed and shook his head lightly. Kirin cocked an eyebrow.

"You can't then?" He pushed and Akito immediately looked at Kirin and shook his head again.

"No no, I can. Agito just uh… he just said" Akito turned away from Kirin and was looking at Gio now, which earned him another raised eyebrow. "He said if it was him in this position, you'd be in a lot of pain right now. Except Agito used different words when he said it." Akito explained. He started to chuckle but stopped immediately, frowning at his bruised ribs.

"You are one hell of a scary son of a bitch, you know that?" Gio said with a smirk. Akito attempted to smile back, but again his laughter had a nasty side effect.

"Alright, we have a job to do." Gio announced as he lifted Akito up and placed him on the ground beside him. Akito leaned back against the wall, slight disappointment on his face. Gio looked at Kirin who nodded and stood ups as well.

"I'll get Jaden." He said quickly as he headed for the door. Gio turned back to Akito, folding his arms.

"Don't worry. I'm not a stuck up prick like Nian. Just stay calm alright?" He said soothingly. Akito was confused by his words until he saw Gio walk over to that horrible metal thing on the ground. The boy's heart clenched as Gio picked up the hose. Mentally Agito was raging. Nian was apparently the name of the man with the braid, and Nian was the name of Kirin's brother.

* * *

Kirin watched as he held the hose behind Gio. He had gotten another member of their gang to work the flow control. He was using this chance to observe Akito. The boy's eyes were locked on the spray of water, following each and every movement carefully and warily. Every time the water even drew even faintly close to him, Kirin could see him tense up and shy away. He was afraid and Kirin couldn't blame him. He was more impressed with Akito's ability to control his fear so well. Unlike a normal child who would hide themselves from that which frightens them Akito never took his eye off of it.

Gio lowered the hose to the ground after effectively dousing the majority of the chamber. It already began to smell better. He motioned with his head for Kirin to move Akito. Their little Angel was in no shape to stand and Gio couldn't spray that side of the room with the kid sitting there. Kirin dropped his bit of the hose and headed over. Akito kept his eye trained on the nozzle of the hose, even as Kirin pulled him to his wobbly legs and helped him over to the cleaned area. Akito slipped right back down into his seated position like a puppet being placed on a shelf. His face was a mask; a blank mask. Kirin hesitated a moment before going back to the hose and helping Gio clean the remainder of the room. It wasn't until the hose was out the room that Akito finally relaxed.

Akito took a deep breath, ignoring the sounds of dripping water and the chill from the moisture in the air. He glanced up as he realized the door was left open. It didn't really matter of course as he couldn't even stand up by himself. He waited, watching Kirin head over to what looked like stairs. Gio said something to him and looked back inside. Akito wondered just how awful he looked right then. He looked down and noticed with horror his poor dress was in tatters. He saddened at the thought. He had really like this dress too. Agito was scoffing in the back of his mind which caused the little boy to crack a smile again.

"Akito"

Akito looked up at the sound of his name. Kirin was walking over to him and kneeled down in front of him. Akito greeted him warmly and smiled. Once again Kirin just couldn't understand the child, so happy even after what just happened.

"It's time to go. You're getting a new room." He told the blue haired boy. Akito gave him a look that said he knew Kirin was trying to play him.

"Not just a room. I'm going to a whole new building aren't I?" Akito replied, and though Kirin did not answer, he knew he was correct. He saw a movement to the side and his eyes trailed down to Kirin's hand. The blonde man held a cloth that had been wet with something. Akito could just make out the smell of something strange in the air and immediately his confused eyes went back to the light hazel eyes of his captor. Kirin lifted the cloth and leaned nearer to the child.

"Sorry about this" He muttered calmly as he moved the cloth closer to the boy. He hesitated at Akito's hurt expression. He looked hurt and betrayed by this simplest of actions. Kirin had a gut feeling that Akito wouldn't try anything, but his mind wasn't as sure. He suddenly felt something on his wrist and looked up to see Gio standing beside him. Gio pushed Kirin's arm the rest of the distance. Kirin looked back down to Akito, whose eye was already starting to flutter closed as he inhaled the chloroform on the rag. The boy let out a quiet sound as he slumped forward onto Kirin's lap, his mind embracing unconsciousness. Kirin looked up at Gio questioningly.

"Would you rather Nian knock her out?" He asked quietly and instantly Kirin turned away. Gio pulled a key out of his back pocket and put it inside the lock of the thick cuffs around Akito's wrists. He frowned at the sight of the ragged flesh that was revealed beneath the metal shackles.

"It wouldn't have been this bad if she hadn't used the chain as a fucking weapon" He mumbled. Kirin turned to glance at the damage and ended up staring. He reached out a hand and gently touched the very ends of the raw bloodied flesh.

"We will have to clean this… I'm surprised he never complained about it." Kirin murmured. With the cuffs off he could see the full extent of the damage. He was glad Akito was unconscious now. Fresh air on this nasty of a cut wouldn't have been a pleasant feeling.

"She's a tough one. I'm not surprised at all. She's not the type to whine about her injuries." Gio replied as he tossed the chain away. He lifted Akito up in his arms.

"He. Seriously Gio." Kirin replied as he soon stood up as well, looking at the limp ragdoll of a creature cradled in Gio's arms. Kirin put the cloth away in his pocket and followed Gio as he headed towards the door. The duo waited at the top of the steps with the angel until they heard the gentle tap on the opposite side of the door. Kirin opened it, revealing the empty pool hall. Gio quickly walked in and over to the back area. He leaned against the swinging doors that led to the employee's quarters.

"Get your brother and tell him to hurry his ass up. It's time to go." He barked at Kirin. Kirin rolled his eyes and shooed the older man who disappeared into the back room. Kirin looked towards the stairs and headed up.

"Nian" He called. His brother glanced up from his lounging position on the couch.

"Done so soon? Damn I was enjoying my break" He yawned as he snuffed out his cigarette on the arm of the couch.

"Nian, he's only a kid you know." Kirin muttered, but his brother glared with icy eyes.

"Kirin it doesn't matter how old they are got it? We've been in this business for how many years now, why the fuck are you letting this one get to you so much?" Nian demanded an answer, but his brother couldn't give him one.

"Look little brother, why don't you just sit the rest of this out huh?" Nian offered as he finally stood up and walked over to his sibling. Kirin hesitated. It would be the easiest thing to do for sure. No more doubts, no more worries. He could just cut himself out of this now and it wouldn't be his problem anymore…but could it really be that easy?

"Don't decide now. Think about it. I know you; you over analyze everything, so take your time and go through whatever the hell list your brain works up." Nian said as he laid a hand on sandy blonde hair and ruffled it. Kirin pushed his hand away, glaring at Nian who only chuckled.

"Come on. We've gotta get going." Kirin said as he headed back downstairs with Nian following behind him at a leisurely pace. The siblings walked straight out the back doors towards the waiting Gio. The brunette was leaning against a dark blue car with completely tinted windows. No doubt their prize was inside.

"The hell, I said hurry up" Gio grumbled and soon he and Nian were passing petty insults. Kirin shook his head and slipped inside his own black car in the passenger seat beside his brother. Gio rode with another of their crew with Akito sprawled across the back seats. Soon they were off, back on the road. Kirin turned his head to glance out the window, watching the dark silhouettes of the buildings pass by. He caught sight of skaters jumping along the rooftops, zooming around on their motor powered rollerblades. He lost them once one stopped to survey the area. Kirin sighed and lazily watched the town become a highway. The inner city was waiting.

* * *

**Kit: One thing that bothers me is a lot of fanfictions have people instantly know that Akito has a split personality (without him actually telling them) and are completely okay with that likes it's a common occurrence or something. Normal people don't think 'oh he's acting different, he clearly has a personality disorder', so for those of you who are thinking Kirin and Gio are stupid and slow for taking so long to realize, I'd like to disagree.**

**Now, give me reviews! Come on, you know you want to...  
**


	9. Cleaned

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear. **

* * *

Silence was what greeted the cars as they pulled in to the dark alley one by one. Despite the heavy shadow cast by the massive buildings around them, light still managed to sneak into the entrance of the alley, shining in multiple colors. A quiet signal was given and the cars moved on, leaving just two behind.

"Out." Said the blonde haired driver as he smoked a cigarette. His younger brother sat beside him, giving his sibling a curious look.

"Look, I didn't expect them to leave everything to Gio. I trust him as far as I can throw him." Grumbled Kirin, ignoring his brother's smirk.

"If I recall…. You can throw him pretty damn far." Kirin replied as he opened the passenger door. Even though he was able to poke fun at his older brother and he had swiftly exited the pitch black vehicle, he hesitated in closing the door. His brother looked at him, reading the uncertainty in Kirin's face.

"…Like I said. You can always sit the rest of this out Kirin." Nian said calmly. Kirin quirked an eyebrow at his brother.

"What and leave you to help Gio out alone? That will surely end in disaster." He played, though his face did little to hide the doubts he had. Nian locked his eyes on his sibling's. Kirin offered a half-hearted smile as he closed the door. Finally the black sports car drove off, following the others and disappearing into the darkness of the fading night. The strawberry blonde watched the car vanish before heading over to the dark blue car that had an amused Gio leaning on the roof top.

"Is your touching brother moment over?" He asked. Kirin rolled his eyes as he smirked.

"I just saved your life. Be grateful." He replied. He glanced at the man beside Gio who was leaning into the car's back seat. Kirin's smile faltered as the man pulled out the dress wearing little boy. His eyes were locked onto the unconscious form. His mind became a muddled mess as he tried to discern exactly what the hell he was trying to think about. Suddenly a hand clapped on his shoulder and he turned his eyes to lock onto Gio who had managed to walk around the car without Kirin noticing.

"Hey, stop spacing out buddy. What use are you going to be if you get all weird and shit when you just see her?" He was trying to joke, Kirin could tell. Kirin forced another smile and brushed Gio's hand off his shoulder. He just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. 

* * *

Gio led both Kirin and the black haired man who carried their captive into a large stone building through a back door. He grinned at the heavily built guard. The guard cocked an eyebrow at the group and waited, looking the group over with suspicious eyes.

"Hey JB" Chirped Gio as if greeting an old time friend. Instantly the guard's expression changed to something much more relaxed. He gave a one sided smirk and high fived the brunette. Kirin barely caught the flash of green that passed between their hands. The group of four continued through the building unhindered. Kirin took the time to look around at the empty and yet dazzling building. It wasn't often he wandered through a five star hotel casino like this. Neon lights blinded its customers in more ways than one. 

* * *

After taking the deserted emergency stairs up a few floors, Gio led them to one of the hotel rooms. A quick scan of the keycard in his hand gave them easy access. Kirin was starting to feel a bit out of the loop. When had Gio received a keycard? Of course, Kirin wasn't as highly ranked in this as the brunette, but even with his position as a tagalong, Gio usually kept him up to date with everything that was going on.

"Alright, so before we take angel to her new luxury suite, we've got to clean her up. So. Onward, to the bathroom." Gio said lazily as he dropped a duffle bag beside the couch in the room and guided their third man holding Akito toward the direction he hoped the bathroom was in. Kirin just looked around. It was a nice set up with two red leather sofas, a plasma screen TV secured to the wall, a mini bar…the works. He walked over to the door on his right, glancing in to see a queen size bed. That must have meant Gio found the bathroom on the left side of the suite. That also meant that Gio was sleeping on the couch.

"Hey, come on ya jerk. Fine, whatever" the sound came from an annoyed Gio and as Kirin turned to glance in his direction, he noticed their third man walking away snickering.

"Check you later Kirin. Boss wants a heads up on the situation." He said as he left the room and left Kirin to piece together why Gio was angry. The answer was obvious. Clearly the lazy bum didn't feel like cleaning up Akito alone. It was if that thought alone reminded his brunette friend that he was, in fact, not alone.

"Kirin~ You should totally come in here and take over. Preferably while I take a nap." He barked to his blonde haired companion. Kirin walked over and leaned against the sleek mahogany doorframe.

"Oh no. I'm only here to supervise." Kirin smirked. Gio only laughed, clearly not even pretending that Kirin could possibly be serious. If he wasn't getting out of work, he wasn't going to let Kirin get out of it either. Kirin watched as Gio picked up Akito and slid open the frosted glass door that separated the bathtub shower from the toilet and vanity.

"Jess was supposed to pick up some clothes for her that weren't shredded. They should be in the bag out there" Gio said in a not so subtle hint for Kirin to go fetch them. Kirin headed out without argument. The bag was exactly where Gio had dumped it sloppily on the floor. He knelt down and dug through it, pushing aside both clothing and metal. Finally he found the small children's clothes tucked away in the corner of the bag. The clothes were a simple tee shirt and sweat pants, but it was better than the falling apart gown he was wearing now. Kirin knew the kid would sell better in wearable clothes. Still, he hesitated to return to the bathroom. He glanced at the door, rethinking his brother's words from before they had left to sell in the city. It was only the sound of running water that broke his thoughts and he casually stood up with clothes in hand and headed back to Gio. When he reached the rather spacious bathroom, the sight made him raise his eyebrows.

"Gio. Wouldn't it be easier to clean him up if you took off his dress?" Kirin stated flatly as he looked at Akito sitting in the bathtub, still completely clothed in that grime covered dress.

"Fuck that!" Gio looked positively appalled at the idea and Kirin had to bite back his laughter.

"You're so immature" He sighed with a roll of his eyes as he sat the clothes on the vanity. He bent down beside the tub and looked at the soft peaceful face of the blue haired boy. With a sigh he reached over and tugged at the dress. Getting it off really wasn't hard at all. The thing was already in tatters and Akito's thin frame let the mess of crusty fabric pretty much glide right over his head. The kid slumped to the side as the dress was pulled away from him and Gio's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Wow. She really is a boy." He mused and Kirin gave Gio a look.

"You know what. I'm not even going to say anything. You clean him up and I'll throw this out" Kirin said as he started to stand. Instantly Gio's hand was holding his arm.

"No no no. You can clean the he she. I'LL throw out his old threads." Gio remarked as he tried to pull the pathetic excuse of a dress from Kirin's grasp.

"Are you serious? Gio, stop acting like such a kid." Kirin said even as he tried to smother the smile that was ruining his attempt to scold the older man. Sometimes he just didn't know what to do about Gio.

"What? No. I don't go for that shit." Gio remarked as he stood, a completely serious look plastered on his face.

"What the hell are you implying? Just for that one, now I'm not helping out at all!" Kirin retorted as he too stood, keeping a firm grip on the clothes.

"Guys"

"Now don't be so selfish Kirin. I mean, you and him are buddies right? So you can handle this. I'll leave it all to you." Gio was smiling as he tugged the dress again.

"Guys~"

"This can be your chance to get closer to him" Kirin replied with a sly smirk. Gio paled.

"You sick son of a…. You sure you ain't Nian in disguise?" Gio barked. Kirin laughed fully at his reaction.

"Clearly somebody's mind is in the gutter. What _are_ you thinking about Gio?" Kirin purred as he gave the dress another tug.

"Me? Dude, you are one messed up – "

"GUYS"

That voice finally brought both Kirin and Gio to a halt in their argument and both whipped their heads around to stare at the luxury bathtub.

"I can wash myself you know" Akito said with a smile as he looked at the two in amusement. They had the deer in headlights look and honestly their little friendly bickering had been pretty funny. Kirin was the first to recover and tugged the dress out of Gio's hands. Gio was still staring at the naked little blue haired kid who was leaning casually against the rim of the tub, completely un phased that he had woken up in a strange place completely naked with two grown men yelling beside him.

"Changed my mind. HE'S the one who's messed up." Gio decided, gesturing to Akito and shaking his head. "Alright Angel. You've got solid concrete around you and we're going to be right here. There's nowhere for you to go."

"I know" Akito replied, still smiling despite his situation. Gio didn't know whether to be amused or disbelieving, so his face held a mixture of both emotions. He shook his head again as he slid the frosted glass door closed.

"What a little fruit loop." He chuckled as he sat cross legged on the ground. Kirin left the room with nothing to add to Gio's observation. He took the dress to the kitchen sink and laid it down inside of it before tearing off a shred of dilapidated fabric. He glanced at the stove and turned it on just enough to light the fabric, then tossed the scrap onto the rest of the dress. He watched the fire burn away any evidence of the child's origin that they had, leaving nothing but crisp blackness behind. Finally he turned on the sink and washed away the ashes.

When he returned to Gio, he was greeted by a song. Gio was smiling as he shook his head and Kirin glanced at the frosted shower. Akito was singing while he cleaned in the shower. Even Kirin couldn't stop the amused expression from covering his face.

"Seriously, I think you've become my favorite captive ever. Well, at least you would be if you weren't… you know… psychotic." Gio called out over the sweet little tune. A giggle was the reply and Gio couldn't even be surprised anymore.

"Gio, fill me in. What's the full plan here?" Kirin said as he sat across from Gio. He kept his voice low, though he knew the singing child right beside them could still probably overhear anything they were about to say. They'd have to keep their choice of words vague.

"Cleaning up for the sale. There's nothing much else too it." Gio shrugged. Kirin didn't really care for that answer. He already knew that much anyway.

"Why here though?" He asked and Gio smirked.

"Here is where it always goes down. Seriously dude, there's even a special room for _our_ customers. This place was practically built for people like us. The rest is all for show." He replied. Personally he'd be spending his free time trying to earn some extra coin by gambling. A casino was the best cover ever in his opinion.

"Ah. So where is he going to be staying until then?" Kirin inquired as he motioned with his head to the shower.

"With the others. There are more than just our kid going up on market. Aki can play with the other little girls while he waits" Gio chuckled, but his joking was cut short by a horrendously loud bang that shook the frosted glass sliding door.

"I am NOT a fucking GIRL" roared a voice from behind the glass. Neither Gio nor Kirin had noticed when Akito had stopped singing, but they were fully aware of it now. Instantly Gio was holding the sliding door shut on one side while Kirin held the other. The boy contained within howled in rage as he pounded the glass again. Gio was just glad the glass was so god damn strong.

"Chill kid, I was just joking around. Jeezus." Gio groaned as he used both hands to keep the door pinned shut on his side.

"Agito?" Kirin's voice was unsure and for a moment the pounding on the door stopped. He could see the vague dark shape of a person behind the glass walk over to his side.

"Fuck off" He said simply as the door suddenly received a strong tug. Kirin had been caught off guard but quickly slammed the door shut again before it even opened past an inch. Agito growled and continued to try to pry open the door. He didn't care if he was naked, dripping wet, and lost in some building where he was who knew where. He wanted to get out and away from these imbeciles. He stepped back and launched a kick at the door but they were surprisingly strong for glass. He tsked as he continued to abuse the solid tempered glass. 

* * *

Gio audibly groaned as he held the door shut.

"Come on kid, just stop. I like the other you better." He complained. His legs were getting stiff for standing there holding a sliding door closed for so freaking long. The kid hadn't eaten in hours so he must have been running on empty. Seriously, how did this child have such an abundance of energy? Every time they thought Agito's little temper tantrum was done, he'd take advantage of their slip in attention and try to escape all over again.

The pounding and cursing had once again stopped, but Gio wasn't going to be fooled this time. He leaned closer to the door and listened, just barely making out the heavy breathing from within. Maybe he was finally tired out. He glanced at Kirin and noticed his eyes were locked on the glass. After following his gaze he understood Kirin's concern. There was blood splattered on the inside of the door. Carefully Kirin released his hold on the door and stepped backwards slowly. His hand reached behind him until it reached the spare clothes and he returned to his spot beside the shower. He slipped the clothes through a small opening between the doors and the ceiling. Gio watched the dark silhouette within catch the clothes as they fell. The child seemed to be debating something before finally tossing the shirt aside and pulling on the pants. Even though Gio couldn't actually see Agito, he could tell the boy was favoring one hand and the way he was slipping on the sweatpants looked awkward. The child didn't move again and after a moment, the fuzzy blob of a silhouette slid down the wall into a seated position. Gio cast Kirin a glance and for a moment longer, the three remained as they were in total silence. It was only the almost inaudible murmur of 'fuck' that finally broke the silence. Kirin once again turned his attention to the dark red smear across the glass.

"You shouldn't keep hurting yourself like that." Kirin said, keeping his voice devoid of any emotion. Tension crackled through the air and even without being able to see Agito's face, he knew the boy was staring at him. Seconds later he received a reply.

"You shouldn't care. It's just one less thing for your brother to do to me that you wouldn't have stopped." Agito's voice was acid.

Gio tensed as the blonde suddenly threw open the sliding door. Kirin stared down at the boy before him. Agito was sitting in the spacious bathtub cradling his bloodied wrist. His eye however was glaring up at Kirin as if daring him to try anything. Immediately Kirin noticed it was the boy's right eye staring at him. He was still trying to accept that a mere eye patch could control Akito's personality. He broke his gaze from that cold golden eye and looked instead at the freshly opened injury that glistened with fresh blood. He reached over to the boy who immediately pulled his arm back as he hissed at Kirin to get away from him.

"Agito, you're hurt. We'll help you." Kirin said as he continued to move his hand towards the boy.

"No you fucking won't!" yelled the young teenager as he rolled onto his back and launched his feet at Kirin's stomach. Kirin gasped at the impact and instantly Agito sprang up. As Kirin staggered backward holding his stomach, Agito leapt out of the tub. His fist met Gio's face and was quickly followed by a body slam, knocking the brunette back. He barely had to look around to find the door and instantly he was heading towards it. He reached out a hand, feeling the smooth metal of the doorknob under his fingertips, when his other wrist exploded in pain. He hissed as he spun his head around to see Gio gripping his bloodied injured wrist.

"Let go of me!" He barked as he tried to pull away, only making the pain worse. That didn't stop him from struggling.

"Knock it off you little masochist" Gio ordered. Instantly Agito's golden eye was trained on the brunette and a fist was sent his way. Gio caught it and spun the boy around so both of Agito's arms were behind his back. Kirin had finally caught his second wind and was making his way over to the struggling child. Agito lashed his legs out, trying his best to kick away the blonde as well as to get the brunette to release his grip. Kirin sighed and reached for the eye patch sitting over the boy's left eye. Agito's right eye widened and immediately pulled away. All of his effort went into keeping that little medical patch in place. Gio tightened his grip on the boy's wrist which earned a pained shout from Agito. Kirin took advantage of the tiny distraction and grabbed the patch.

"Stop! Get the fuck away from…" Agito growled as he thrashed as hard as he could, but he couldn't fight the change. The effect was instant. The boy immediately stopped any resistance he had been offering and was suddenly as tame as a kitten. Kirin took a step back, much to Gio's displeasure and slight panic. Carefully Kirin surveyed the child as the boy lifted his head to look at him. His left eye was big and innocent. Gentle and pained. Then the boy's legs just went out from under him and he clenched his teeth to fight off the pain.

"Come on. Let's get you bandaged up." Kirin sighed as he opened the door and left the bathroom. Gio glanced down at the kid before scooping him up and carrying him out, shaking his head. 

* * *

Akito sat calmly and quietly on one of the sofas. He gently touched his bandaged wrists. One of the bandages already had small dots of blood thanks to Agito's struggle in the bathroom. Now that they were cleaned and bandaged though, they didn't hurt as much. He glanced up sheepishly to see Gio watching him from the other couch. Gio was clearly guarded and wary of him.

"….sorry if I hurt you." Akito finally mumbled as he returned his gaze to his wrists. Gio didn't show any sign of hearing him. He just continued to stare at the kid. The difference between Akito and his other self were ridiculous. Even more insane was that such a small child with such a weak looking build could fight so well.

Kirin soon returned to the room with some sort of balm in his hands. Akito gave no opposition as the blonde squatted down in front of him and began smearing the balm on his bruised ribs. He winced every now and again, but otherwise made no movement. Gio finally made his way over to the two, holding more gauze in his hand. Akito looked at it curiously.

"You're eye patch. That's what controls your personality right?" He asked as he looked at the kid. Akito looked up at him carefully, unsure if he should answer this or not. He didn't notice that Kirin was staring at him, waiting for his answer as well. Finally the boy answered with a tiny 'yes'.

"So… as long as the patch covers your right eye, you're Akito?" Gio wanted to be sure. He'd heard of people with split personalities, but this was still strange.

"Yes." Akito's eyes were back on his hands which sat folded on his lap.

"Perfect." Gio chirped as he tugged the gauze in his hand. This made Akito's head lift in confusing. Gio smiled as he brushed blue bangs away from Akito's visible eye.

"Look, you're other self is scary as shit. I'm keeping your psycho switch in place." He explained. Akito tipped his head to the side and finally looked unsure about the situation. Kirin immediately caught on to what Gio was thinking.

"That's a good idea." He said as he took the gauze from the brunette and moved towards the blue haired child. Akito lifted his hand and gently tried to push the fabric away from him. Not being able to shift control to Agito made him nervous and downright uncomfortable. His pathetic attempt at opposing this decision didn't get very far. Kirin gave him a look that a teacher would give a misbehaving student and Akito didn't stop him when he slowly pushed his hand back down to his lap. Kirin began wrapping the gauze around his eye, locking the patch in place, locking Agito away, and ignoring Akito's stricken expression. 

* * *

"Gio. Go get one of your long sleeved shirts." Kirin said as he finished up. Gio looked at him curiously.

"Just go" Kirin said with a roll of his eyes as he shooed Gio with one hand.

"Alright alright." Gio marched off towards his bag. Kirin returned his attention to the boy.

"Don't worry. Gio and I will make sure you go to a good home. Promise." He offered. He knew Nian and Gio were right. He had broken a key rule in their operation. He really did care about Akito. He had never questioned their actions before. It had never crossed his mind to check to see who he and Nian were selling too. He never really thought about it before. This time however, he felt he had to.

"Yeah… but you know… you could always just let me go." Akito offered quietly, looking up at Kirin with his best innocent hope filled face. Kirin shook his head.

"You know I can't Akito. I'm not the one in charge of this." He said and he wondered if he had more say in this organization if he would have let Akito go. He just might have… but he had no real status in their group. Kirin was disposable.

Akito sighed. "I wonder if I'll be put in a cage again" He said calmly as he looked off to the side. Kirin stared at the boy about to ask what he meant by that when Gio interrupted them.

"Found one. Now tell me why you need it" Gio chirped as he tossed the black shirt towards his comrade. Kirin caught it easily and looked at Akito who was still sitting there shirtless.

"That's too big for me Kirin" Akito smiled, pointing out the obvious. Kirin shrugged and pulled it over the boy's head. He helped him get his arms into the sleeve and Akito held out his arms as if to make a point. The sleeves dangled quite a bit. Akito even stood up, letting the oversized shirt drape down to below his butt.

"See?" He said and Kirin smiled.

"It's only temporary. Think of it as a precaution. Look, I trust you Akito, but not Agito." He said, but still his words confused Akito. Gio was also giving him a look. Kirin took the sleeves in his hands and crossed them across Akito's front. The sleeves easily encircled the child's tiny waist and at last Gio caught on. He leaned over the back of the couch and took over for Kirin, tying the sleeves together in a knot. Akito's shoulders slumped and despite his crestfallen expression, he had an unfitting tiny smile on.

"Just like old times." 

* * *

Akito walked carefully down some sort of hallway. A hand was pressed against his back to guide him and his vision was hindered by a thick black blindfold. He didn't know where they were taking him now, but he had been counting the flights of stairs as they traveled. They had brought him down at least six floors. He wasn't sure if that would help him though as he had no idea if he was underground or above ground.

At last they stopped and his blindfold was untied. He quickly blinked his eye to adjust to the light, and then looked around. A shiver shot through his spine as he looked at the rows of bars. The entire hallway was lined with cells. There was no natural light, just the dull glimmer of overhanging lamps. As he looked into the cells he noticed something a bit unnerving. Many of the cells were occupied by children. He took a step towards one of the cells, staring in blankly, and was met by two pairs of terrified eyes. They huddled together in the corner of their little prison and like Akito they looked like they had been thrown around and beaten. Akito tried to reach out a hand to them, but suddenly remembered they were strapped behind his back.

"Here Angel. This one's for you" Gio called to the child as he laid his hand on Akito's shoulder. Akito turned to face the brunette. His face was masked. He decided he would not give the men down here the pleasure of seeing him as scared as the rest of the children. Gio sighed at the boy's expression and led him to his cell. Akito stared at Gio indifferently even as the bars slid and locked into place.

"Look Aki. It's only temporary alright? Hopefully tomorrow night you'll have a whole new home to rampage in." Gio said calmly, a light smile flitting to his face for a second. He turned and left the room, leaving Akito in the care of the guards stationed throughout the hallway. He leaned his head against the bars and just watched the silent scene. The cell across from him had another group of children. This time it was claimed by three very young kids, easily siblings. A young girl held her little brothers close, defiance written in her eyes as she kept her arms protectively wrapped around her family. When she caught Akito's stare, she instantly looked away. They were all in the same situation now.

Akito sighed and closed his eye. It was only then that he heard something move behind him. He slowly turned around and for the first time scanned his own little cage. The cell contained an emaciated twin size mattress that looked like it was stuffed with hay, and a single toilet. The walls were solid stone and unlike the ceiling of the hallway, the cell had no light fixture at all. A light wasn't necessary. The cells were shallow enough that had his arms been unbound, he could lie down and almost touch both the bars with his fingertips and the back wall with the tips of his toes.

The most important thing Akito noticed about his room was that he was not the only one within it. There, huddled in the far corner at the very edge of the shoddy mattress was a little girl. She looked around six years old and her big blue eyes were glued to Akito. Akito tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Hello" He offered as he took a step closer to his roommate. The child's eyes grew wider and she tugged some dark gray fabric close around her. It looked like what was supposed to pass for a blanket.

"Look I'm a good boy. I'm not going to hurt you." Akito tried again, this time bending down so he was closer to eye level with the other child. He smiled again but the girl was still staring with total fear in her eyes. Akito sighed and was about to say more when a force slammed him from the side and knocked him against the wall. While he was sitting there stunned, someone pinned him against the wall. He let out a tiny bark of pain from the jolt to his injured ribcage and had to take a moment to get his nerves under control.

"Who are you?" growled a voice and Akito finally opened his eye in confusion. Glaring back at him was a teenage boy who had to be close to Akito's age. 

* * *

**Kit: I'm just… shocked. Teeny270 I'm surprised that my story is having such an impact on you. Thank you to everyone who actually takes the time to review.**


	10. New Cage

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear. **

* * *

"Well? Answer me you little arse!"

Akito stared at the boy in bewilderment. Finally he seemed to find his tongue and he opened his mouth to speak up.

"Akito. My name is Akito." He said calmly as he looked straight into the green eyes of the boy before him. The boy's eyes narrowed as he looked Akito up and down. It wasn't until after he stared at Akito's bandaged head for a good long while that the child finally backed off. Instantly the little girl in the cell was by the boy's side, hugging his chest and peeking out at Akito through her short mousy brown hair. The boy placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her, but never took his suspicious gaze off of their newest cellmate.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Akito said quietly as he remained seated against the wall. His apology only made the boy's eyes narrow even more.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your names?" Akito asked with a kind tone and just the slightest tip of the head. The boy scoffed and did not give Akito an answer. Personally, Akito was finding this kid exceptionally rude. After all, Akito had told him _his_ name when _he_ was asked.

"Where did you come from?" The boy demanded coldly. Akito looked at him evenly and frowned. He was having déjà vu. Was it another ploy to try to get him to talk? Hadn't they realized yet that he really didn't have anyone they could blackmail? Akito furrowed his brow as he surveyed the other children. The boy's black hair looked messy and in need of a trim. Both of them were dirty and wearing grimy clothing that reminded Akito of his poor dress during its last moments. Then a sudden thought occurred to him. Where was his dress? What did they do to it? He really liked that one too.

"What?" questioned the boy who had seen a range of emotions cross over Akito's face. Akito blinked, awoken from his thoughts.

"Nothing really. I just miss my dress. They took it from me after they knocked me unconscious."Akito sighed with sadness in his voice. The boy just stared at him.

"Are you serious? You're worried about a bloody dress right now? You divvy." mocked the boy. Akito felt a little silly. Judging by the boy's tone, he had just been insulted… but he didn't really know _how_. The boy talked weird and had a slight accent.

The kids stayed like that for awhile – Akito sitting against the wall and the other boy watching him warily from the opposite side. Eventually the boy's curiosity broke the silence.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" He asked flatly. Akito looked up and watched the other boy and the little girl still nestled against him. He let a smile ghost across his face.

"A boy." He replied and watched as the boy's eyebrows creased.

"…dress?"

"For a play." Akito said as his grin widened. He chuckled lightly, but winced immediately after. He leaned his head back against the cool wall and took a few breaths. Even inhaling just a little too much caused him to cringe in pain. His poor ribcage sure was taking a beating lately.

"….what's wrong with you?" asked the boy after watching Akito's distressed expression ease into a tired mask. Akito didn't answer him which really seemed to annoy the boy.

"Hey you little nancy, I asked you a question." The boy stated. Akito's mouth twitched up a bit into a tiny smirk.

"I asked you a question too, and you never answered me." He pointed out with an innocent look on his face.

"That's because I don't trust you." Sneered the boy as if he were stating the obvious.

"I don't really trust you either," shrugged Akito. The boy hesitated and was finally thinking things over. He cast a furtive glance at the guards before sighing and looking at the one eyed boy.

"Fine fine. I suppose you've got me there. You can call me Elliot. This is Mouse." He said as he gently rubbed the girl's back. The girl looked up at Akito for a moment before burying her face back into Elliot's shirt.

"Mouse? Is that her real name?" Akito asked. Elliot stared at Akito for a moment before deciding what to say.

"Nobody knows. Mouse hasn't spoken a word since she was thrown in here." He said as he clenched his fist. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Now answer my question." He said in a steely voice.

"My chest hurts is all. I bruised my ribs not too long ago." Akito explained and realization dawned on the other boy's face. He looked away with a trickle of guilt in his eyes and once again the cell was silent. 

* * *

Akito slept calmly in his awkward seated position before a small shiver brought him to his muddled senses. He blinked his eyes blearily as he let out a yawn. His head tilted to the side as he took in the dark dankness that surrounded him. Eventually his gaze landed on two human-ish shaped things on the opposite wall and Akito shivered again. He was cold… they had a blanket. He let out another yawn as he pulled himself to his tired feet and stumbled his way over to the other side of wherever he was.

As he stepped closer and knelt down, warmth spread through him. He smiled and instantly curled up against the source of the warmth – the other people in this dark place. Soon he was back asleep. 

* * *

Green eyes fluttered open as he felt something lean against him. At first Elliot thought it was just Mouse, but the little brunette was still curled up tightly on his right. His body went rigid as he slowly turned his head. If Mouse was on his right, then who was on his left?

His eyes widened and his heart sped as he saw the blue haired kid sleeping just beside him. He clenched his teeth and held his breath to stifle his gasp. How had he been so careless as to fall asleep like that? And now a possible enemy was using him as a pillow!

Elliot scooted himself closer to Mouse, letting his narrowed eyes rest on this so called 'Akito' person. He didn't want to wake Mouse, but he sure as hell didn't want to be near this other kid. He frowned as he tried to quietly push the blunette away. Eventually Akito slid down so he was lying on the ground. Elliot looked the kid over with distrust. He finally realized the kid's arms were bound. He had been wondering why he had been holding his chest since his arrival. He had wrongly assumed it was to protect his injured ribs.

Elliot's gaze traveled to the boy's face. The white gauze was wrapped tightly around his head and effectively covered his right eye. For a moment, Elliot wondered what happened to his eye, but he quickly pushed the thought away. It didn't matter anyway. He tensed as the boy suddenly moved. Akito made some sort of soft groaning sound as he shivered and curled up. He looked so defenseless… but that could just be a trick. He probably wasn't even really asleep.

Maybe he was just being paranoid… but that paranoia was what kept him and Mouse alive for this long. He wasn't going to give it up.

The sound of footsteps brought Elliot's gaze away from Akito and over to the hallway. One of the guards was talking to a taller man with sandy blonde hair. Elliot's gaze narrowed as the man's dark eyes turned towards his cell. The child stared back defiantly as he placed a protective grip around Mouse. The man said something to the guard again. He was smirking and it was giving Elliot the creeps. It didn't help that he couldn't hear him clearly. Anyone in this place was trouble and the more a person knew about what was going on, the better chance he or she had of ruining their plans.

He gritted his teeth as he broke his gaze from the stranger's cold eyes. Carefully he leaned Mouse against the wall, making sure the blanket was tight around her small form, and edged closer towards the bars. He mentally cursed as he scooted closer and closer to that blue haired ninny curled up between him and the exit to their miniature hell hole. The black haired boy let himself get as close as he could before he let his eyes flicker back to the guard and the man.

"…then she'll definitely pay a pretty penny for…" said the guard before his eyes locked onto Elliot. He motioned with his head to the young captive, causing the blonde man to turn his head towards the cage. His eyes sat on Elliot for a moment, then Akito for a moment more before he turned back to the guard in such a low tone Elliot couldn't make out what it was he said. Then the man left and the guard glared at the boy.

"Hey you prissy foreign little shit head. Keep your nose outta other peoples business" the guard barked as he banged on the sturdy metal bars. The sound cracked through the silent corridor like thunder through the night sky. Elliot heard a small frightened gasp behind him and anger boiled in his gut. He forced himself up and stormed over to the bars, grabbing them with both hands and glaring at the man.

"Who are you to say my future isn't my business? You bloody wanker." Elliot growled as he glared straight back at the much older, taller, and better built man. Suddenly he felt himself pressed against the bars of the cell and his feet dangled an inch or two off the floor. The man had him by the collar of his dingy shirt.

"Look kid. You ain't got a future. The sooner you accept that, maybe you'll life will get just a little bit better" He growled before tossing the kid back so the child landed with a thud on the ground. Elliot continued to glare up at the man until he walked down the hall with a scoff.

Elliot let out a small 'hmph' as he sat himself up. He was sick of this bloody place. It felt like he had been down here for months… and for all he knew, that could very well be the case. He let out a sigh as he looked towards the back of the cell. Sure enough, Mouse was curled up in the very corner of their cage on that ratty old mattress, completely shrouded in the scrap of black fabric that probably would have made a somewhat decent blanket 20 years ago.

"Mouse. It's alright. He's gone now." Elliot said soothingly as he gave her his full attention. Then he noticed she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at something beside him. Elliot turned his head down and jumped backwards in alarm. Akito hadn't moved an inch, but his eye was wide open and staring at him with a blank expression.

"You… I knew you were fake sleeping. What are you playing at?" He hissed as he stood up tall and clenched his fists. Akito looked out of his peripheral vision towards the bars before returning his golden gaze to Elliot. Finally he lifted himself off the ground and sat up.

"I wasn't faking … but _you_ should have. I could have heard more about what they were going to do…" Akito said in a quiet voice. Elliot stared at him warily.

"You just said you weren't faking. So what, were you listening while sleeping? You're lying through your teeth" Elliot growled. Akito slowly shook his head.

"I woke up. I don't remember hearing anyone come down here… but as soon as I noticed someone was talking… I started to listen." Akito said calmly. A tiny smile broke across his face.

"You're not very subtle." He added with a chuckle. Elliot blushed and turned away from the blue haired boy.

"Oh what do you know…" He barked, but instantly he stopped and turned back around. He cast a cautious but curious stare on Akito.

"…what DO you know? What did you hear?" He asked carefully. Akito returned his cautious gaze and for a moment the two stayed in their make shift staring contest. Elliot felt something tug his sleeve and reluctantly broke his stare. The little girl in the cell was standing behind the older boy, peeking around his legs to look at Akito. Immediately Akito's face melted into a warm, kind expression.

Right. Elliot and Mouse were in the same position he was in.

"They were talking about some kind of sale. Something about buyers liking them young and cute…_he_ wants to drug us so that we sit still and don't ruin his stupid sale." Akito said, for the first time letting a trickle of true bitterness tint his tone. He and Agito were not going to be drugged again.

'_They like their chloroform, Akito. That's probably what they'll use again. We'll show those assholes. Just hold your breath when they get the damn rag near you and fake it. Then we'll have our chance to get out of here.'_

Akito nodded at the thought, which earned him a curious look from Elliot.

"What about that last thing the creepy blonde bloke mumbled? You didn't manage to hear that did you?" Elliot asked as he folded his arms.

Akito frowned. "He said 'Watch that one. He's a trouble maker.'"

"Typical. Those darn brutes just won't leave Mouse and me alone. One would think they'd get it through their thick heads that I will never tell them what they want to know and they aren't going to sell us like we're some form of animals," scoffed the black haired boy. Akito only giggled, which earned him an immediate glare.

"What, may I ask, is so funny?" He immediately demanded. Akito smiled a pleasant little smile.

"It's just… you talk proper and not proper at the same time. That… and technically, we _are_ animals." Chuckled the one eyed wonder. Another thought dawned on Akito and he looked at Elliot curiously.

"So then, you think he was talking about you? You're a trouble maker?" Akito asked. Once again, Elliot's eyes flashed with distrust. He stayed silent as he walked to the wall, Mouse acting as his living shadow, and leaned casually against the cold stone. Akito smiled.

"You remind me of a friend of mine. He's a little violent and curses a lot… really easy to annoy and he doesn't trust easy either. He's nice underneath though. Just like you" Akito said, ignoring the complaints in his head, as his eyes traveled from Elliot and landed on the little girl the other boy protected with such care.

"If you are implying that I'm soft or weak… I will tell you now that I'm not." Elliot stated fiercly as he held Mouse's hand and pulled her just a bit closer to him.

"That thought never even crossed my minds." Akito said serenely.

The blue haired boy let out a small yawn, which was quickly picked up by Mouse. She yawned too, which only led to Akito yawning again. Elliot eventually yelled at the mysterious blunette for yawning so much and let Mouse lay her head down on his lap. Then he yawned. He glared one last time at the giggling Akito before silence fell over their cell. 

* * *

Akito sighed as he leaned his head against the bars of the cell. Across from him, the prisoners were making quick work of their meager meal. Akito watched the oldest split the portions so the younger two had bigger helpings. He craved a share for himself. His stomach agreed and made a point of telling him so.

"Sorry kid. Unlucky you, being thrown in there with little black british." One of the guards said as he passed by Akito's cell without even offering a slice of bread. Akito rolled his head sideways and glanced at the black haired boy he shared his cage with. The guards called Elliot all kinds of names except his real one. Most weren't as kind as this guard's pet name for him.

"It's not because of my hair color if that's what you're wondering," Elliot grumbled from his spot in the corner, sitting beside the little brunette girl. Akito hadn't really been wondering.

Akito's thoughts were interrupted by another growl. This one came from behind him and his golden eyed gaze instantly found Mouse. The little girl blushed and buried herself in Elliot's arms as if that only would make her disappear… or at the very least make her stomach quiet down. Akito was just plain confused. Why were the guards not giving them food if they were giving the other prisoners food?

Nobody was there to give him any answers. Even as he turned his head back towards the hall, the guards were already gone. He watched the kids across from him nibble on their bread. The distance between them wasn't horrendously large. They probably could have thrown some over, but they wouldn't even make eye contact with him. None of the others in any of the cages would. Food was a scarce thing and their desperate forms did not want to share.

Akito finally backed away from the bars as his stomach let out another annoyed grumble. He wondered how long it had been since his last meal. He had no clue how much time had passed since he had left wherever he had been held last time.

Akito sighed as he slouched against the wall and slid down into a seated position.

"So…why do they call you…whatever it is that they called you?" the blunette asked just to fill the silence. Everyone here had secrets they wanted to keep, and even if this wasn't a dangerous story, it was Elliot's story alone. Akito wasn't going to be upset if the pale black haired boy decided not to talk.

"They call me 'little' because they think I'm just a child. 'Black' because they think I'm an unsellable evil. 'British' because…well, if you can't guess that one, then you're a bigger eejit than I thought"

Akito smiled as a small chuckle escaped his lips. Elliot just turned to glare at him.

"What's so funny?" he demanded. Akito shrugged.

"I wasn't expecting you to answer" He replied smoothly as he continued to smile at the other kid.

"…nutter" 

* * *

Quiet had settled over the dim lit cells. The blunette was still sitting silently beside the wall, breath steady and eye closed. Across from him was his teenage roommate and his younger ward. Elliot glanced at the sleeping newcomer before turning his eyes towards Mouse. Her stomach let out a soft moan as she looked up at Elliot pleadingly. He sighed and squeezed her tight.

"I'm sorry Mouse." He whispered. It was his fault they didn't get fed today. He just couldn't stand the idea of this small little girl being bought and sold like some china doll. So he fought, and hunger was his punishment.

Elliot jerked his head towards the bars as the echo of footsteps reached his ears. His eyes narrowed at the dark shape that loomed in the hallway, stepping closer and closer. The figure stopped at his cell, holding a bag in his hand. It was a man with reddish blonde hair. He glanced at Elliot and Mouse for a split second before training his eyes on the other kid. The blue haired weirdo.

"Akito" the man said quietly, but the other boy did not stir. The man turned his hazel eyes towards Elliot.

"Hey kid… go wake him up." He said calmly. Elliot didn't even budge. He just glared at the stranger until the man sighed and crouched down. He placed the bag on the ground and reached into his pocket, only to pull out a few spare coins. Literal pocket change. Elliot watched warily as the man placed a penny on his thumb and flicked it towards the blunette. The coin hit the kid right on the side of the head.

Akito twitched and frowned as he moved away from whatever had struck him. The man repeated the movement three more times before the kid finally opened his eye.

"ow" Akito muttered as he slowly blinked. The stranger smiled and shook his head.

"Come here Akito." The man spoke calmly and beckoned the boy closer with a hand. Akito leaned towards him and let his body fall to the ground so he was lying on his stomach. He let out a yawn and stayed where he was. As Elliot watched, he couldn't help but wonder if the other kid had been drugged… but he hadn't seen him eat or drink anything. The strange blonde sighed and sat down Indian style.

"You really need to learn how to wake up faster." The man muttered as he drummed his fingers against his knee. Akito finally moved again and rolled over onto his back. He let out a yawn and sat up slowly.

"I'm not usually this bad. Agito maybe, but… I'm just hungry." Akito said as he looked over his shoulder at the stranger. Elliot was staring at Akito in surprise that quickly melted into suspicion. He watched Akito stand and make his way over to the bars. He sat down in front of that blonde guy like they were some kind of friends or something.

"Well, you're lucky then. I heard the guards didn't feed you because of your roommate." The man said as he glanced in Elliot's direction. Said child scowled in return.

"So I brought you this." The man added as he reached into the bag and pulled out a loaf of bread. He furtively glanced down the hallway before shoving the bread through the bars. Akito watched him with his knowing gaze.

"Kirin. You'll get in trouble if you're caught, won't you?" he asked, looking at the strawberry blonde instead of the food on his lap.

"Just…don't share it. And eat it fast." Kirin replied. He stood and once again cast a quick glance down the hall. His eyes met Akito's one last time. Then he turned and disappeared. Akito sighed and picked up the bread with his teeth. He instantly walked over to Elliot and sat down in front of him. Ignoring the dark, distrustful gaze, Akito bit down into the bread to tear off a nice sized bite and let the remainder fall onto Elliot's lap.

"You heard you're little friend. Don't share." Elliot growled stubbornly, staring at Akito's smiling face. The one eyed child chewed his own bite and swallowed before he spoke again.

"He also said eat it fast. If you let it sit there, the other bad people will come and take it away." Akito replied smoothly. Akito's golden gaze fell to Mouse, who was staring at the bread with longing in her eyes.

"I know you guys are hungry too."

Elliot eyed Akito for a moment longer before finally reaching down and tearing the bread in half. He gave the untouched half to Mouse who instantly began to eat it. Elliot however just looked at the bitten half in his hand.

"…You bit part of this. That's disgusting." Elliot deadpanned. Akito had the gall to giggle.

"Just rip off that part then."

Elliot's stomach rumbled as he stared at the bread. Finally he ripped off the end Akito had taken a bite from and quickly ate the rest. He looked at the last piece of bread in his hand and sighed.

"Here…you might as well eat the rest of it." He said as he looked away and held out the bread for Akito to take. When the other kid didn't take it, he gave Akito a curious look.

"Well?" He said flatly, finding the smile on Akito's face just a bit irritating. Why was he so happy all the time?

"I can't take it with my sleeves like this. Put it in my mouth" He said sweetly. Elliot stared at him as if he had just suggested dipping his hands into boiling acid. Apparently Akito was being serious because he was waiting patiently with his mouth open. Elliot glanced at the bread in his hand, then at Mouse who was staring intently, then back at Akito. Reluctantly he fed the restrained boy. He stared at his own hand in disgust as Akito ate.

"Thanks" Akito chirped, bringing Elliot out of his reverie.

"I'm never feeding you again. Just so you know." Elliot stated matter-of-factly. Akito only giggled. 

* * *

Silence was starting to become a common blanket in the cages in this damnable casino. Akito had taken his spot on the opposite wall across from Elliot again while Mouse curled up on the straw mattress in the corner. Elliot seemed deep in thought and Akito could catch the boy giving him a glance every now and again.

'_Ask him what he wants. He's getting annoying.'_

Akito sighed and leaned his head against the wall. If Elliot wanted to talk to him, he would when he was ready. Despite Agito's mental pestering, Akito remained quiet.

"…thanks….for sharing and all"

Akito looked over at Elliot and found his green eyes locked on him.

"See Agito? There's no need to rush things." Akito said in such a soft tone, the boy across from him tilted his head to the side and leaned closer.

"What did you say?" He asked. Akito smiled. Again.

"It wasn't a big deal." He said, now much more audible. From the bed in the corner of the room, a mess of brown hair popped up. Blue eyes alternated from looking between Elliot and Akito. Carefully, the owner of those eyes stood up on thin legs and slowly walked to the edge of the mattress. She stared at Akito for a full minute and suddenly the blue haired boy found himself in the gentle embrace of the little girl. He stared down at her as she hugged him, and then glanced at Elliot. The other teen didn't seem to approve of the girl's actions, but was reluctantly staying where he was.

"She's saying thank you too. In her own way." He explained with a guarded voice. Akito looked back down at the little girl and smiled.

"You're very welcome" He said in a soothingly gentle tone. His infectious smile spread to the girl and she quickly spread a grin onto her own dirt smudged face. The girl detached herself from Akito's side and walked over to Elliot. He instantly put his hand on her head and looked at her like a protective brother gazing at his adorable little sister. Quiet returned to the cell, though this time around, it was far less awkward.

After a few more hours in silence, the guards began to walk the halls for the day's second and final feeding. When one of the guards reached their cell, he looked in and stopped.

"Here. Fight over it like the animals I hear you two are" He said with a sneer as he dropped a small chunk of bread onto the grime covered ground at his feet. Neither Elliot nor Akito moved until the man finally moved on. At last, Elliot stuck his arm through the bars and grabbed the bread. It was much smaller than the piece Akito's person had brought, but food was food. He broke it in half and gave a piece to Mouse. He glanced at the half left in his hand. It wasn't much.

He sighed and broke that piece in half too.

"Here." He said as he held out the piece of bread to Akito. The blue haired boy smiled and walked over. The two stared at each other a moment, Akito with a grin on his face and Elliot with an awkward look. Finally Elliot just held out his palm with the bread sitting on it, and Akito leaned his head towards his hand and picked it up with his mouth. Elliot instantly rubbed his hand on his shirt - not that that would do anything.

"Do you know what they'll do to us? They aren't just gonna keep us down here right?" Akito asked after the trio had finished their scraps of stale bread. Akito was looking out at the other cells, watching the other children. Elliot followed his gaze.

"They'll sell us. Or try to at least." Elliot's tone as empty of any emotion. He glanced at Akito, to see the boy's shoulders slump.

"You want to go home right? So do we all. Even the ones who thought they didn't have a home." Elliot continued. His eyes were not pitying. Akito was no different than all the other kids down here. Everyone here was taken away from wherever they had originally lived. Some from families, some from the streets, but all from their homes.

"Do you think anyone is out there looking for you? Or Mouse?" Akito asked in his quiet, gentle tone.

"No." Elliot was succinct in his answer. He wasn't going to explain himself either. Once again the cell fell silent until Elliot finally took a deep breath and glanced at Akito.

"What about you? People looking for you?"

"I'm not sure." Akito replied. He never took his eyes away from the other cells. Then his face suddenly dawned a look of confusion. Akito hopped to his feet and glanced around their cell. Slowly but surely, Akito became more and more twitchy. Like he had an itch he just couldn't reach, or as if he suddenly got the chills and they wouldn't go away.

For the first time since his imprisonment, Elliot saw Akito struggle against his makeshift restraints. The blue haired kid was tugging hard against the tied sleeves, spinning and hopping from foot to foot in some demented dance.

"Elliot!" Akito called out, and Elliot was greeted with a desperate golden eye as Akito finally stopped moving except for the occasional twitch of the leg. Elliot looked and waited for the kid to continue. Akito bit his bottom lip before finally blurting it out.

"I've gotta pee." 

* * *

**Kit: Sorry if this update seems a little slow for the long wait, and my apologizes if you abhor new characters. New characters are essential to further the plot in non-crossovers like this one, so bear with them. **

**So, people are curious about what Crow and co are up to are they? I was planning to release a short one shot about what they were doing during this whole thing after I finished this story. You'll have to wait for it if you want to know.**


	11. To Market

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear.**

* * *

Akito sat with a smile planted on his face, leftover from the feeling of relief that had rushed through him ten minutes earlier. Across from him, a black haired boy was burying his own face in his knees to hide his look of disgust and embarrassment. Without Elliot's help, such a simple thing as going to the bathroom would have been much more complicated. At least with a dress Akito was able to go easily, but pants cause a slight issue.

Akito smiled as the younger of his cellmates tugged at Elliot's sleeve and hugged him to try to make him feel better. It wasn't really working, but it was the thought that counted.

"You, stop smiling. You're too happy. And I'm not helping you again." Elliot finally said as he glared at Akito. Akito instantly tried to suppress his smirk, but he was doing a poor job of it. The humor in the room vanished instantly as the sound of creaking metal caused all three children to turn their heads. Mouse instantly hid behind Elliot and the two boys stood up to watch the entering guard warily. He left the gate open. Elliot immediately made a move to punch the man with a half thought out plan to take him down and get out of their cage with Mouse… and the new guy. Unfortunately the skinny teenager was no match for the burly adult. Elliot was picked up and thrown off to the side. He was sent crashing into Akito, landing both boys on the ground in a painful pile.

"Calm down you foreign little shit. I'm not here for you." The guard said calmly. Mouse made a movement to run to Elliot's side, but the tiny little girl was grabbed by the guard. His massive hand wrapped around her thin arm and it looked like he could break it with just the most minor of movements.

Elliot rolled off of Akito and was back on his feet in seconds. Akito took a deep breath and was having a slightly tougher time than Elliot to right himself, but adrenaline was slowly starting to course its way through him. That man had Mouse and most likely nothing good was planned for that little girl.

"No! Mouse!" Elliot yelled as he charged again and was yet again thrown backwards. This time Akito purposely put himself between Elliot and the wall, cushioning the hit. Both boys were immediately up on their feet and Akito ran towards the guard as he turned around to leave with Mouse. The tied up blue haired child did the first thing that came to mind and bit down hard onto the man's arm. The guard cursed and tried to throw the kid off, offering Elliot the perfect chance to finally land a blow to the oversized brute. The man cursed even louder, releasing his grip on the little girl to cover the bruise forming on his face.

"You'll pay for that you little shit" He growled as he reached out for Elliot, but Akito pulled back, giving Elliot another opening and Mouse a chance to put some distance between her and the fight. The man gripped Akito's hair and yanked the boy forcefully off his arm. Akito didn't dare whimper. He grit his teeth and ignored the minor bit of pain coming from his pulled hair. He had dealt with far worse this week than that.

The man finally landed a punch on Elliot, sending the scrawny teen straight to the floor. Elliot wiped his mouth and glared at the guard. With one down, the man moved on to take care of the second trouble maker. Akito gasped as he felt a fist hit his stomach. His legs went limp but he was kept upright by the man's grip on his hair. Akito bit his lip to stop from crying out and he could feel his eyes starting to water.

"Leave us alone! And let him go!" Akito heard Elliot growl and looked over to see the black haired boy standing up. The guard laughed and held Akito up just a bit higher so that he wasn't touching the ground anymore.

"Aww, grown attached to this one too?" The man asked with unmasked cruelty in his voice. Akito knew what was coming next and squeezed his eyes shut for impact. Next thing he knew, he heard a small 'oomph' and he was released. He landed on the stone ground with enough force to make his head dizzy.

'_Akito, this is our chance. You've got to get up! The gate's still open!'_

Akito could hear his other voice and knew Agito was right. They had to move now.

"Akito, come on, move!"

This voice wasn't from his head. Akito blinked his eye open and forced himself to look up. Elliot was pulling at his sleeve with one hand while holding Mouse with his other arm. Mouse had her own arms wrapped around Elliot's neck and looked absolutely terrified. Elliot was looking frantically between the gate and Akito and let out a breath when he noticed Akito was looking at him. With Elliot's help, Akito scrambled to his feet and the three headed towards the open gate, leaving the guard groaning on the ground clutching his stomach. Akito took one step passed the gate when he heard a familiar click of metal and felt something cold press against his cheek. Both he and Elliot froze in their tracks.

"I told you he was a trouble maker." The voice was chillingly familiar and Akito glanced sideways to see Kirin's brother holding a gun too close to his face. Nian reminded Akito of his own brother just a little too much…the difference between them was that unlike Kaito, Nian's eyes held loathing in them. Kaito had glared at Akito and Agito many times, but never with such disgust and hatred that was betrayed in Nian's gaze.

"You won't shoot me. You don't get rid of the goose before she lays her golden egg." Akito said quietly as the most innocent of smiles tugged at his lips. Seconds later, Akito's head was ringing and he was back on the floor.

Nian turned the gun towards Elliot, not giving the slightest care in the world that he may have given his own prize a concussion after hitting him in the head with his pistol. While the brat was right that Nian wouldn't kill him since that wouldn't give him any profit, the other kids were a different story. He gave a cruel grin as the black haired boy before him turned himself in a way so as to shield the girl in his arms with his own body. Nian's finger began to tighten around the trigger and the boy closed his eyes tight.

* * *

Elliot tensed the instant the strange new guard guy slammed his weapon against Akito's already bandaged head, sending the other boy straight down to the ground. The young British teen felt a chill run down his spine when the psycho turned his gun towards himself and Mouse.

"I'm sorry Mouse" Elliot whispered as he held her tight and turned her away. Maybe his death alone would be enough to satiate the blonde stranger. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, but the noise he heard was not the loud bang he was expecting.

"Nian. Bad boy. No shooting other people's property. We've been over this."

Elliot's eyes burst open and turned to face the blonde man. Another man had joined them – this one had messy brown hair with goggles hanging around his neck as some sort of fashion statement. He was pushing the blonde one's gun down and the blonde didn't seem pleased at all. They were arguing, but Elliot couldn't be bothered to try to listen. He had to get Mouse away from them.

Slowly, Elliot started to edge away from the scene. His eyes fell on Akito's form, unmoving on the ground, and guilt stabbed at him. He couldn't risk trying to get both Akito _and_ Mouse out of here.

Damn him and his guilt.

Elliot held Mouse close with his one arm, letting the little girl hide her face against his neck, and made a dash for Akito. He reached his arm out to grab the other boy's sleeve, and just as his fingers touched the fabric, a thick, heavy hand gripped his arm. Elliot's head snapped over to his right, locking eyes with the first guard from earlier. The man was holding his stomach and breathing heavy, but he was back on his feet and was in no mood for banter.

Elliot was given no chance to react as the man yanked his arm and shoved him back into the cell. Elliot gripped Mouse against his chest as he fell backwards. He pet her hair when she looked at him with her big, 6 year old eyes and she laid her tiny hand on his shoulder as if she knew he was hurting there. He smiled at her and sat up, whispering for her to go sit in the corner under the blanket. Elliot quickly returned his attention to the three men out in the hallway. The large guard was bending down to grab Akito, picking him up by the neck of his shirt. The man's face looked twisted and tense, though Elliot couldn't tell if that was from anger or from the pain in his gut since the guard was _still_ holding his stomach. Either way, things weren't looking too good for Akito. Elliot stood up and made his way over to the bars as fast as he could. He wasn't sure what he could do to them now that the guard had smartened up enough to close the gate, but something was better than nothing.

"HEY— "

"Woah, hey hey hey. I already have to deal with this loon, I'm not in the mood to deal with you too. You break him, you bought him" Elliot's words were cut off by the brown haired man, who had finally left the blonde and was now pulling Akito away from the big guard. Neither of the other two men seemed to appreciate this goggle wearing brunette's comment, but their glares didn't faze him.

"Hey shortstop. Back up so I can give you your roomie back." The goggle guy said with a smile on his face. As he talked to a kid in a cage. The world was a sick, messed up place.

Elliot didn't budge and chose to follow his usual routine of staring back defiantly. The man frowned and bent down so that he could look Elliot in the eye.

"Look kid, don't you think it'll be easier for Aki if there's some kind of barrier between him and them?"

The stranger's words held truth to them, but Elliot's pride was a tough thing to suppress. The brunette sighed and straightened up.

"Fine. Then I guess I'll just have to come in there and swap Aki out for the girl hiding in the corner there." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

"You won't touch her" Elliot hissed as he instantly backed up and put himself in the way of the hall's view of Mouse. The goggle guy grinned and opened the gate while holding Akito around the waist with his other arm. Elliot instantly backed up to the corner, hiding Mouse from sight behind him while never dropping his glare aimed at the brunette. The man just put Akito down against the wall and left without another word, closing the gate pretty softly compared to how everyone had closed it lately. The goggle wearing git whispered something to the burly guard, shaking his head, and started helping him walk down the hall towards the exit.

Elliot waited for a few minutes, staring out at the hallway even as the sounds of the men's voices faded, keeping himself lodged in the corner as a human shield for Mouse. He probably would have been content to stay like that for much longer had the object of his protection not squirmed out from behind him. Mouse ran over to Akito and pet his hair like Elliot had done to comfort her just a few minutes earlier. The little girl gently stroked his head where he had been hit, causing him to stir just the tiniest bit.

"uuuh…. I need to stop hitting my head…" Akito mumbled before he felt something warm embracing him. He opened his eye slowly, glancing down to see Mouse's little arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. He smiled at her and would have loved to return the embrace. It was strange. When he lived with Kaito, he never really cared about the straitjacket. Here, however, he just wanted it off. He wanted to be able to hold others again. He wanted to be able to let Agito help everyone.

Akito saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see Elliot sitting down beside him. Mouse hopped to her feet and ran over to her corner. She returned with the blanket and squirmed her way between the two boys, spreading out the cloth so it covered their laps. She held Elliot's hand and leaned against Akito's arm.

The boys sat in silence, letting the girl drift to sleep between them. Elliot glanced down at Mouse and then looked at Akito with a half sided smirk.

"And here I thought they were talking about me when they pointed out a trouble maker. They were really talking about you." He said quietly. Akito didn't smile back. He was content to observe the wrinkles on the blanket spread across his lap.

"Seriously Akito, you're stronger than you look. Seeing what just a kick can do, I think I can guess why they tied your arms up." Elliot continued as he leaned his head back against the wall. Akito looked over at the other boy in confusion. Elliot wasn't looking at him anymore, so Akito gave voice to his question.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You kicked him hard enough to knock him down good. That guard from earlier." Elliot replied smoothly, but Akito didn't remember doing that.

'_That bastard had it coming. Akito, they may have stopped us from being able to switch whenever we want, but that won't stop me from protecting you. It was the reason I was born. But I swear, once we get free, I'm going to fucking destroy those assholes._'

Akito smiled and leaned his head back. He sighed and let his eyes close.

* * *

The heavy sound of footsteps and laughter caused Akito's eye to flicker open. His head was leaning against Elliot's and Mouse was still snuggled between them. Apparently he and Elliot had fallen asleep, although Akito wasn't sure how long they were out.

The sounds were getting louder, and it took a moment for Akito's sleepy brain to put together exactly what it was he was hearing.

"Elliot" He whispered as he moved his head forward. Elliot started to fall sideways and jerked his head up as he awoke.

"What?" The other hissed indignantly as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. Akito motioned with his head towards the hall and Elliot immediately grew tense. He shifted from his spot and stood, scooping up the still sleeping Mouse. The little girl instinctively reached out for Akito as she was pulled away before rolling over towards Elliot. He took her to the corner and beckoned Akito over. They weren't going to let her get taken by anyone. As they settled down in their new seats, with the two boys sitting like a wall in front of Mouse, the source of the noise and the footsteps stopped. Right outside their cell.

"Awww, how cute. Angel's playing protector!" One of the people in the hall said, and Akito recognized him by the nickname he used before he even looked at him. It was Gio with Nian and Kirin. The other five guys were miscellaneous guards that patrolled the halls randomly, and the girl was an entirely new face.

"Well, it doesn't really matter she-male. We're not here for your tiny girlfriend" Gio said as he entered the cell.

"We wouldn't let you touch Mouse anyway. You should just leave, you stupid wanker." Elliot, ever the confrontational type, barked as he glared readily at Gio. Unfortunately his insult just made the brunette chuckle.

"Well well Shortstop, I bet watching you and our resident nega-angel get along would have been a fun time." Gio said as he turned his eyes towards Akito with a knowing grin. Elliot didn't quite understand the reference and nobody was going to explain it to him right now.

"Now come here Aki. It's your time to shine." Gio cooed as he gave Akito a friendly smile and motioned with his hand for the boy to come. As if that would actually work. In response, Elliot spread his arm out in front of Akito. Akito blinked in surprise at the gesture. He wasn't sure how long he had been … where ever this was… but he wasn't really expecting Elliot to be this willing to defend him.

"Just let him come, Shortstop. He's one of the lucky few who gets to leave this dump and get a brand new home." Gio was still smiling as a strawberry blonde walked up beside him.

"I'm not stupid, you slimy git. Being sold to be someone's little pet slave isn't exactly a wonderful life" Elliot replied venomously. He was ready to fight if he had too. He watched silently as the new blonde laid a hand on the goggle wearing brunette's shoulder.

"Come on Akito. Come without fuss and nobody will get hurt. You're the only one we can protect." The blonde said as he looked Akito straight in the eye. Akito held his breath a moment as Kirin's words sunk in. His gold gaze instantly flitted to Kirin's brother who was standing, waiting rather impatiently, in the doorway. He had his accursed pistol in his hand again. Akito looked towards Elliot and he thought of Mouse behind him. He wouldn't…

"You're not going to protect him. You don't care a bit about him. Nobody cares about any of us. You just want your profit." Elliot didn't understand the threat. How could he?

"Elliot, stop yelling at them. Please stop." Akito urged as he took a step forward, pushing gently against Elliot's arm barricade. Elliot looked slightly stunned by Akito's words, but he soon put on a determined face.

"Akito, they're lying. They don't really want to help you." Elliot explained and Akito smiled at him.

"I know." He said.

Elliot furrowed his brow and hesitated as Akito stepped passed him. He shook his head, deciding he would talk to Akito about this later after these goons were gone. He reached out and grabbed Akito's sleeve.

"Akito—" Before he could finish his sentence, a shot rang through the air. Akito turned towards Elliot with a wide eye, staring into his shocked expression as he fell backwards.

"Elliot!" Akito yelled. He tried to run towards his roommate and latest friend, but strong arms wrapped around him and lifted him up. He struggled and cried out, determined to reach the other boy whose entire sleeve was already soaked in blood, but Gio did not let go. The brunette just sighed and carried Akito out of the cell, letting the kid cry himself hoarse. His arms were tied anyway, and more importantly his psycho switch was locked in place, so he wasn't all that nervous about handling him. He carried the squirming boy right by Nian who was still holding his smoking gun. He didn't give his accomplice a single glance as he and the bulk of their entourage headed towards the stairs.

The two brothers lagged behind. Kirin walked out of the cell, eyes locked on his older brother. He stared at Nian as Akito's cries slowly disappeared into the distance.

"…you shot him. Why would you do that?" Kirin demanded, keeping his voice level despite the anger that was building in him. Nian stared straight back at his brother. There was no remorse, no sign of regret in his features at all.

"I did these people a service. That kid was just eating a hole in their wallets. There's no point in feeding an unsellable dog." He said as he pocketed his gun. He turned with a light shrug and pulled out a cigarette.

"Sure, we may need to pay a little fee for damaging their property, but that thing wasn't worth much. Selling off our bitch will cover the cost easy." He added as he lit his nicotine stick and started to walk.

"NIAN." Kirin's voice echoed in the silent hall, causing his brother to stop and turn to look at him. Kirin marched up to the other blonde, trying to keep his breathing steady.

"what?" Nian narrowed his eyes, clearly disapproving of the tone his little brother was taking with him.

"Stop it. Just stop it. They're human beings, just like you and me. Why don't you learn how to treat them as such?" Kirin said as he grit his teeth. Nian stared his brother down and took a step towards him, eliminating the last inch of distance between them.

"Stop being so fucking soft, Kirin. This ain't a fantasy world you get to live in that has happy endings for everyone. In the real world, shit happens daily. People aren't equal and we don't have to pretend they are. Check your morality at the door and toughen up, or get eaten alive by this thing we call reality."

Nian turned and walked away in silence, leaving his little brother in the hallway, glaring at the back of his head.

* * *

Akito sat quietly on the ground in the corner of a large empty room. Chairs were in rows in front of a small stage. The stage floor led to different rooms on either side and curtains hid the various sellable items and the occasional child from view of the chairs. Gio was standing beside the blue haired boy, but Akito didn't give him a single glance. He kept his gaze on the floor, only ever looking up when a man forced his chin up to examine his face. The man stood up and began talking with Gio, leaving Akito to absorb what had just happened. Akito continued to stare aimlessly at the ground, looking a bit shocked. The adults wouldn't expect him to be listening.

"I'm telling ya, you untie the shirt, even less people will want him. He's got a worse mouth than anyone here and he won't just sit still without a fight."

"What do his arms have to do with his mouth? Besides, he looks plenty tame to me. I think you're lucky. He's young, good looking, and easy to control. Ideal for this market. But tying his arms back gives the wrong impression."

"That's what I'm trying to explain to you, he's only tame right now because of the precautions we've taken."

"Then sedate him if you're that worried about it!"

Akito looked up at that sentence, catching the exasperated sigh of the man as he dealt with Gio. He pushed himself to his feet with surprising ease and instantly started racing towards the door. Unfortunately Gio grabbed his shirt before Akito got very far at all. Gio wasn't even looking at Akito when he smirked.

"See? More feisty than he lets on right?" He chuckled as the other man rolled his eyes. He made a gesture with his hand and another guard came over. Gio knelt down beside Akito and started to untie his arms, surprised yet wary that Akito was offering no more resistance than that short dash towards the exit. Of course, the moment his sleeves were loose, Akito's hands flew up to his face and he scrambled to remove the bandages covering his eye.

"Woah woah woah" Gio tried to grab Akito wrists, and after a few tries, managed to stop him from switching personalities which had to be the boy's goal. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Agito.

He stared at the boy as Akito gave the occasional pull as if testing Gio's hold on him. Gio glanced to his side and motioned with his head to the guard. As Gio held Akito's arms out, the guard bent down and pulled Akito's sleeve up. He had a small needle in his hands and Akito could only watch as he injected him with some unknown liquid. Akito's panicked expression soon disappeared as the sedative shot through his bloodstream, and he looked more like he was ready to fall asleep. He couldn't remember why he had been so anxious before, but now everything just felt okay.

'_Akito, what did they do to us? Hey! Listen to me'_

Akito blinked slowly and slumped against Gio's arms. He could hear people talking again, but this time he didn't bother trying to listen. There was no reason to right? Everything was fine.

* * *

Kirin leaned against a post on the stage beside Gio. The seats were full with the wealthy and sick minded. Just watching them bid on children was starting to make Kirin's stomach curl.

"Don't look like that, Kirin. Those people are how we make money." Gio said as he gave a playful nudge to Kirin's shoulder. His antics didn't do much to help Kirin's mood.

"Our next item is a young male with golden eyes and naturally dark hair. He has a slender build, a good, submissive temperament, and a pretty face. Bidding will start at five hundred dollars."

Kirin looked up to see Akito on the stage, sitting on a plush purple pillow with his legs chained together. He didn't look like he was mentally there.

"What's wrong with him?" Kirin mumbled as bid after bid was shouted and Akito's price began to rise.

"He's just sedated." Gio shrugged as he watched the bidding without much interest. The price for Akito was already in the 2 thousands and Kirin had to look away. He turned and prepared to leave the room when a boom echoed in his ears and smoke filled the air. The bidders began to panic in their scramble to escape and Kirin shielded his eyes as lights shined in through a brand new hole in the wall.

"This is the police! Everyone stop where you are."

Nobody even hesitated as they continued to push and shove to escape. Kirin looked at Akito, still sitting without a care on the pillow, staring into nothingness while people stampeded around him. Kirin started towards him. He was just a few steps away when Gio grabbed his arm.

"You want to get arrested? Move it Kirin." Gio barked as he dragged Kirin towards the back exit. The police were pouring in now, and the one female who had announced their arrival stopped beside Akito. Kirin watched as she lifted his face up and recognition shined in her eyes.

"Wait a minute… I know you. You're the younger Wanijima. Kaito's little brother. How in the world did you end up here?"

Gio pushed Kirin out of the room and they fled into the casino.

* * *

Hours after the police busted into the underground market, Gio was sitting across from Kirin in one of the many rooms in the casino hotel. The brunette casually sipped a can of beer as he lounged on the couch, apparently non-pulsed about the situation. They both looked up as the door opened and Nian entered the room.

"The cops barely caught anyone… but they got about half of the items up for sale." Nian walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a drink for himself. Kirin looked at his brother carefully.

"And Akito?"

"It's fine. Tianlu grabbed him so we can still sell him." Nian stuck his hand in his pocket and sipped his beer. He leaned against the wall and looked at his younger brother. Kirin didn't seem pleased that they still had their little meal ticket.

"What?" Nian demanded as he narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. Kirin looked up and sighed.

"Tianlu. She didn't hurt him right?" He asked. Tianlu was a girl the boss often kept close to him. She was hired for her fighting expertise and it didn't take long for the guys in their group to learn not to hit on her. She didn't talk much, but she didn't need to say anything to let them know she wasn't interested.

"He didn't fight her, so she didn't have to do anything to him" Nian replied with a tone of disappointment in his voice.

"She did take out all the cops that had surrounded him though. I'm glad she's on our team." Nian chuckled. There were few in the world that Nian respected, but Tianlu was one of them. Maybe it was because she was a hit first ask later type of person like him.

Nian looked over his brother. Kirin was staring at the ground and looked a little lost in thought.

"What now?" He groaned as he crossed his arms.

"Nothing, I just… heard one of the cops say something when she saw Akito" Kirin began. Both Gio and Nian looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"She called him 'the younger Wanijima'. She knew who he was right away and said he was the brother of someone named Kaito." Kirin looked at Gio and Nian, waiting for their response. Nian didn't seem to care about this new turn of events and was back to drinking his beer. Gio looked more thoughtful.

"You did say you thought he had a brother. I wonder why he never looked for little Aki. It's not like Aki is old enough to live on his own." Gio noted as he finished up his own beer. He crushed the can and tossed it in the general direction of the trash can, watching as it bounce off the rim and clatter to the floor.

"But you know… now we know his full name. Akito Wanijima. To top that off, we know people in the police can recognize him with a single glance. We can ask our informants if they can get any information about him now that we've got his last name." Gio yawned and stretched his arms as he lounged on the red velvet couch.

"Why bother? People were bidding quite a bit for him. We might be able to get more just selling him here." Nian said with a smile.

"If he's got family, we should stick with the original ransom plan." Kirin looked at his brother, who just scoffed in return.

"We'll do what rakes in more cash"

* * *

**Kit: Out of nowhere, I suddenly got quite a few reviews for this fic. Thanks guys! Here's an update for you in return for your support.**

**POLL ON PROFILE! Vote for the next crossover you want me to write.**


	12. Wanijima

**DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear. **

**Also. My apologies for the rather long wait.**

* * *

With the discovery of Akito's full name came all the information Kirin, Nian, and Gio had originally been seeking. Their police plant didn't even have to dig for anything. Merely mentioning 'Wanijima' made the man talk and talk about some big shot named Kaito. It didn't take long after that to learn Akito was Kaito's younger brother and apparently was once a valued member of their elite police force.

"Well, that explains why he knows how to fight so damn well," said a goggle wearing brunette. "Doesn't explain why only half of him can fight, but I guess that's just a decent bit of luck, ain't it?"

"We can't jump to conclusions. He might not be related to the Shinjuku Crocodile. That cop might have been mistaken." Kirin was sitting beside Gio, lounging in their suite where the remnant ashes of Akito's poor dress still dusted the drain of the sink.

"Yeah, I guess. It is weird Wanijima never went looking for his kid brother. I heard he was a heartless ass, but wow. Aki is his own blood. You'd think he'd show a bit more attachment." Gio stretched and glanced over at the third person in the room. The informant was being hesitant.

"Actually sir, from what I learned at the station, Kaito was known to shoot his little brother and hit him with a whip… I heard last time he beat him so much the kid could barely move. Reports say he kept the kid in a straitjacket too, even when they were out in hostile territory. If you ask me, it seemed more like he wanted his little brother dead."

Gio and Kirin looked surprised and after a moment of silence, Gio just shook his head.

"Looky there, all the puzzle pieces are slipping together. It's a family of crazy people," he announced with a grim laugh. Kirin was oddly quiet, with just a slight half smile on his face.

"He asked me once if I've ever been afraid of my brother…. I can see why he might have been afraid of his." Kirin glanced up as their door opened, revealing Nian. Kirin knew his brother had his flaws. Many many flaws… but at least Nian would never seriously hurt him. They had always, and would always, protect each other.

"Hey. Cops are still sniffing around. Lucky they didn't get their hands on our bitch. Who knew the little shit head would be worth so much money?" Nian grinned as he leaned against the door and lit a cigarette.

"Oh my my, did we get a buyer even with all that racket?" Gio looked up expectantly at Nian. Nian actually smirked instead of snapping at the brunette. His mood was too positive. Kirin wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'll go talk to him. Make sure he is who we think he is… who knows, maybe ransom will net more than a sale." Kirin glanced at Nian who looked doubtful but didn't object to the idea. Hey, if it worked, that was extra money to line their pockets. But money wasn't really Kirin's concern.

* * *

Kirin headed out to another room among the many that lined the upper levels of this damnable casino. Inside, a large, heavily built guard was sitting on the couch watching tv while his partner sat casually on a chair near the bedroom door.

"No problems from the boy?" Kirin asked as he headed over to the door.

"Not a one… but the sedative won't last much longer. If he's as wild as Gio said, things aren't going to stay this quiet much longer. Hey, seriously, I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Kirin." The guard let out a yawn and lounged against the wall.

"He's not that bad…usually…" Kirin had a one sided smirk as he opened the door and went inside. He heard it click as the guard locked it behind him, but his attention was on Akito. The blue haired boy was curled up on the bed. He hadn't moved since Kirin entered and was still motionless as the blonde headed over to the bed. Kirin glanced around the bland little room. It was much less luxurious than the others and the guards were smart enough to remove anything that could be lifted by a 14 year old boy and used as a weapon. That left just the bed, blanket, and pillows.

Kirin made his way over to the bed and sat down on the edge, glancing at the little boy beside him. Akito looked like a life sized doll. The bruises on his face were gone and his clothes effectively covered the rest. Even the bandages that had been wrapped around his eye were removed, leaving just his original medical eye patch hidden behind his blue bangs. He was so still and now that he was cleaned up, his fair skin and golden eye made him somewhat pretty for a boy. His eye was open and staring blankly at nothing. He didn't even look real. Kirin was just starting to wonder if he was even alive when that golden eye flickered over to him. He blinked slowly and let out a dull moan. Kirin carefully pulled Akito up into a seated position as the effects of whatever they had drugged him with began to wear off.

"… Where … am I?" Akito's small voice was groggy and he still looked disoriented, but it was clear the drug had run its course at last. The blunette raised his hand and rubbed his eye slowly, not really remembering what exactly had happened the past few hours.

"Wanijima"

Akito blinked again and instantly looked up at the sound of his name. It was reflexive. Kirin didn't miss how natural of a response it was.

"Don't you think Kaito will be worried about you?" Kirin asked the muddled Akito. Usually the boy was careful not to betray any information that could be used against him, but he clearly wasn't very focused right now. Akito gave a slow shake of the head.

"Brother doesn't really worry." Akito nit his eyebrows. Kaito would probably laugh a bit at his situation actually. What was his situation again?

"Why wouldn't Kaito be worried about you? Aren't you the inseparable Wanijima siblings?" Kirin had heard Kaito wasn't exactly nice to Akito in public, but he had also heard it was a rare thing when Akito wasn't with his brother while at work.

"I was ….Wait. How do you know that name?" Akito finally seemed alert in that golden eye of his as it scanned his new location curiously. He finally landed his gaze on Kirin and stiffened his posture.

"Hey calm down. You know I'm not going to hurt you." Kirin raised his hands calmly and offered Akito a smile. Akito smirked back, raising his own hands.

"I know. Which is why I'm still here. I, Akito, am not going to hurt you either." Akito's smile was innocent and his words a bit confusing… until you remembered that Akito was only a single part of the boy sitting on the bed. Kirin gave a forced, low chuckle as he laid his hands back on the bed.

"Akito Wanijima huh? So I heard down the grapevine that you worked for the police." Kirin's tone was for light conversation, but they both knew this was more than just some small talk.

"What makes you think my last name is Wanjima?" Akito asked as he stared ahead of him, nor daring to meet Kirin's eyes. Kirin smirked at the boy.

"We have our ways of finding things like this out. Besides, you responded to it Akito. No point in denying that's your name. So are you going to tell me what you did for the police?" Kirin pushed, patiently waiting as he watched Akito's calm mask crack with distress before he recomposed himself.

"Knowing that name won't help you. I'm sure you've already looked me up. You should know I have no parents." Akito still faced the wall with a practiced look of composure.

"Just a brother. I know," Kirin replied, still patient. "We've got all the information we need already. I'm just asking out of curiosity now." The room fell to silence and stayed that way for quite some time.

"I was a field agent…but the police won't pay to get me back. I was court marshaled months ago." Akito's voice was strong and Kirin had no reason to not believe him. After all, this explained why the police plant said the 'little Wanijima' hadn't been seen at the office in a long time. But it was strange. What could he have done to get court marshaled?

"Not even your brother?" Kirin asked as he stared Akito straight in the eye.

"Especially not my brother." Akito's reply was instant. No hesitation in his voice, and no doubt in his eye. For some reason, that was unsettling to Kirin. They sat quietly yet again for a few minutes. Kirin glanced at Akito occasionally, but the boy seemed deep in his own thoughts and it appeared as if he was mumbling things to himself under his breath. Right. He could take 'talking to himself' to the extreme.

"You're curious right? Why we were court marshaled?" Kirin blinked in surprise as Akito blurted that out. He did want to know, but assumed it was a question Akito wasn't going to answer.

"I betrayed my brother, and the police. That's why they won't do anything to help me. I'm now my brother's enemy." Akito paused and looked straight at Kirin.

Kirin stayed silent as he processed this new information. Betrayed his brother? Akito didn't seem the type to be capable of betrayal. Kirin's eyes strayed to the eye patch.

"Your brother reminds me of my brother. They both like to hit me and keep me in a cage," added Akito as he looked back towards the wall. Kirin again was silenced by this news. He didn't know if he understood Akito properly. This wasn't the first time he had mentioned being in a cage before. Kirin was starting to wonder if it wasn't a metaphor at all like he originally thought.

"Did you know? My brother hates storm riders." Akito glanced at Kirin. His sentence didn't seem very relevant to anything though. Kirin recalled Akito said he wasn't a very good AT rider and although he could ride, he definitely didn't consider himself a storm rider.

"Good thing we're not storm riders then, huh?" Kirin asked as he smiled warmly at Akito. The bluenette's own smile was surprisingly mischievous. He tapped the eye patch covering his right eye and giggled.

"You didn't finish your snooping did you?" Akito asked. Judging from Kirin's expression, it had never even occurred to the blonde to check into the young Wanijima's _other_ name.

"Enlighten me then. What don't I know about the other you?" Kirin asked, but Akito just giggled again and pressed his finger to his lips.

"I'm not going to do your work for you."

Kirin sighed and shook his head. There was no point in dancing around the topic anymore anyway.

"Akito, I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm really trying to help you. Please, tell me there's somebody out there who will pay to get you back. I broke the rules. I care about what happens to you. I don't want to see you get sold to some pervert with a child fetish. So come on Akito. Tell me who to call to get you home." Kirin looked at Akito pleadingly, but the boy just stared blankly back.

"You won't find money from the people who know me," he finally said. Kirin didn't like that answer. If Akito was telling the truth, not only was there no chance he'd be able to get him home, but it meant Akito believed nobody wanted him enough to pay for him. Hell, nobody cared enough to even look for him or report him to the police. Akito was such a good kid too. Life really wasn't fair.

Kirin stood up and headed to the door, leaving Akito behind on the bed. He felt the kid's eye tracking him.

"I'm sorry then, Akito… I don't have the power to stop them from selling you. You are what they consider a perfect item. Young, pleasing to look at, and obedient." Kirin said as he tapped the door three times.

"So what will your buyers do if they see a boy who is rude and violent instead?" Akito asked. Kirin again glanced towards that personality controlling eye patch.

"They won't see that side of you. I was told you'll be sedated again." Kirin replied as the door clicked open. Kirin had been careful to avoid using names, but Akito knew who he was talking about anyway.

"Kirin, I have a message for your brother," Akito called out. Kirin looked once more towards Akito as the boy sat with a mask of calmness on his face.

"A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare."

With that, Kirin left the room, leaving Akito alone in the room.

* * *

'_Akito, why tip him off about me? Having them look into my name will only hurt us, not help us.'_

Akito smiled as he let his legs dangle off the edge of the bed and kicked them gently back and forth.

"No, I think Kirin will use the information well." Akito spoke quietly this time, glancing at the door before spinning on the bed and facing the opposite wall.

'_You put too much trust into him. Don't forget, he's that Nian bastard's brother. That's who he's loyal too.'_

"Just like we're loyal to Kaito?" Akito's words made Agito hesitate, but he did not let it hold him up for long.

'…_You don't think I can fight our way out?'_

"Consider Kirin a backup plan. We don't even know where we are. But I feel like if Kirin catches us in our escape… he'll just point us in the right direction and let us go."

'_Doubtful. Especially if he's with his dickhead brother.'_

"You should trust my intuition more, Agito."

'_Where have I heard you say that before?'_

* * *

Kirin was sitting in an internet café with a coffee in one hand and a mouse in the other. Akito left him a tip and he decided it was immediately worth looking into. It made sense that the informant in the police force didn't ask about an Agito. He wasn't even aware the kid had multiple personalities. Few people on this mission did.

So it was up to him to do some digging and the best place to start was the internet.

Typing in the name 'Agito Wanijima' immediately brought up quite a few selections. Strangely enough, some were encrypted, but most were AT related. There was even a tiny paragraph about an old storm rider team called 'Agito' that wasn't active anymore. But there was no way it was this Agito… who named a team after a single person anyway? Besides, Akito was pretty clear that he didn't ride ATs anymore.

Kirin looked on and finally found the exact name Agito Wanijima in a forum post about a battle with a team called Behemoth. It was worth a shot to add that name to the search… and that was really all it took. Plenty of forums had talked about this fight. People blogged about it, websites dedicated pages to it, there were articles written about it… all in the storm rider world. Agito was a storm rider, that much was pretty damn obvious. How could Agito know how to ride and Akito not? It made no sense… well, neither did an eye patch that could switch your personality. It looked like it was just something he'd have to accept.

So was Akito trying to tell him his brother hated Agito because he was a storm rider? Or was it something else? For the first time, Kirin cursed his indifference towards AT battles and classes. He rode for fun alone and never bothered learning about storm riders and their teams. It probably would have helped him now if he knew what the big deal was about this battle between Behemoth and Kogarasumaru. Kirin continued to read until one word caught his eye. Fang King. That was a word any rider would recognize. What did it have to do with Agito though?

"Shit…no way." Kirin stared at the page in sheer disbelief.

"What are you up to all alone down here, my blonde haired compadre?"

Kirin jerked a bit as he looked up to see Gio reading over his shoulder.

"Ohh, research on the evil prince. And I have no idea what that means. Wing road, obvious. Your flame road, after demonstration, also obvious. But how can you ride a bloody road?" Gio looked at Kirin with a cocked eyebrow and waited for an answer.

"The bloody road is ridden by riders who like to fight…it's called bloody because its riders usually scar their opponents by … carving them up." Kirin shuddered. This was one of the roads he truly thought was horrible.

"So the little demon boy can ride Air Treks too?" Gio asked as he leaned against the chair and read more of the page on the screen.

"Ride? I'd say yes… according to these websites… he's the Fang King." Kirin said the words and still couldn't believe them even as they left his mouth. That boy… was the fang king of the bloody road? He had never met a king before and never wanted too. If this information was true, than he could only thank god Akito didn't have air treks on when they went after him. They would have been slaughtered.

"Yeah…you lost me. What do you mean 'fang king'?" Gio failed to see the importance of such a title. He didn't realize just how dangerous Agito was.

"It means he's the best at what he does. Nobody who rides the bloody road, the fang road, like him is as good of a rider as he is. You've seen me ride Gio. If all of these sites are to be believed, Agito could probably ride circles around me." Kirin logged off the computer as Gio gave out a short whistle.

"I kinda want to see this. Should we give him a pair of ATs?" Gio asked, but Kirin looked at him like he was absolutely insane.

"Woah woah, just kidding. No need to freak out on me." Gio said as he backed up. Kirin just sighed and shook his head. Gio already thought Agito was scary… Kirin wondered just how the brunette would react if he saw Agito in his natural element.

Riding Air Treks covered in blood.

* * *

Kirin headed straight back towards Akito's room with Gio as a tagalong.

"What the hell are you hiding in your jacket?" Kirin groaned as he put his hand on the door. Gio grinned and shrugged.

"I'm being prepared. You said our little angel has his hands free. His psycho half has forced me to arm myself." Gio patted the bright orange and yellow thing tucked away at his side with a grin.

"…it looks like a nerf gun." Kirin just stared at it while Gio shrugged.

"What? You expect me to walk around with a real gun when there are still cops crawling around?"

Kirin couldn't suppress the smile from breaking through his attempt at sending Gio a disapproving frown. Instead he just went inside the room. He wasn't really expecting to see Nian there.

"Perfect. Kirin I was going to call you anyway. So? Anything new and interesting about our prized bitch?" Nian asked as he jerked his thumb towards Akito's room. Kirin paused and stared at the room.

"…he's… No. He said his brother hates him and he has no family." Gio glanced at Kirin, but the strawberry blonde said nothing more.

"Alright, then we sell him to the highest bidder. She's paying a pretty penny for him. We're lucky he cleaned up so well." Nian said with a grin.

"No, we're lucky his face healed up and that the damages from you weren't visible during the display," Gio said as he placed his hand inside his jacket and looked evenly at Nian with a smug expression. Nian just glared back.

"Doesn't matter. We're getting a huge payoff for him anyway." Nian didn't take Gio's bait, which really seemed to dishearten the brunette. He lowered his hand from his nerf gun and sighed.

"Whatever let's just get her…him…it… demon angel thing out here." Gio said as he shooed Nian towards the door.

"What? Too chicken to get him yourself?" Nian cooed, smirking at the snipe towards Gio.

"Damn straight." Gio's reply wasn't what Nian had been expecting and it was now his turn to be annoyed at the ignored bait. Kirin rolled his eyes as he sat down on the couch. After a small amount of bickering, Gio finally headed over to the door and opened it wide.

"Hey Angel. Time to meet your new owner," he said as he grinned at the boy sitting on the bed with his one leg curled up and the other dangling. The boy's eye locked onto Gio and sent a chill down the brunette's spine.

"Shit, he's in psycho mode." It was the only sentence Gio managed to say before the boy leapt at him, barreling into the brunette and knocking him to the ground. Agito instantly used his free hands to back flip away from the man and land safely on his feet. He launched a roundhouse kick at the sight of metal, knocking Nian's gun to the ground before he could fully draw it. He paused to glare at Kirin with his predator's gaze and Kirin couldn't help but feel intimidated. Knowing who he really was made that gaze suddenly much more dangerous.

Agito broke eye contact when Nian came towards him with his fist. He dodged as smoothly as he could and aimed another kick at that blonde bastard. Nian let out a satisfying 'oof' as it connected with his gut. Agito was preparing to move in for another blow when he saw a gun rise out of the corner of his eye and instantly leapt backwards to dodge it. The suction cupped foam dart threw him off and he stared at it a moment in disbelief as it stuck to the wall.

Nian took advantage of his lapse in attention. He swept his legs out from under him and grabbed him by the neck. Agito cursed as his hands instantly gripped Nian's arm. He curled his legs under him and launched them up onto Nian's shoulders and around his neck. The force caused the surprised blonde to stumble backwards and Agito made full use of the inertia to break Nian's hold on him and force him down. He stomped his own foot against Nian's arm and grinned.

"Not so tough when your opponent isn't chained to a wall, are you, ya damn bastard." Agito raised his other leg and prepared to slam it into Nian's neck when Kirin finally jumped in and pushed Agito off of Nian. Agito recovered easily, turning the fall into a roll and springing back to his feet in one fluid motion.

"Aww, cute. Brothers who actually stick together. Ain't that a rare sight. You're both so fucking weak," Agito sneered as he stood ready.

"Don't get cocky for catching someone by surprise you little shit," Nian growled as he stood up and went for the pint sized demon child yet again. Nian wasn't a pushover and without ATs, Agito couldn't make up for his lack of arm and leg length with speed. Nian had longer reach and was only happy to remind Agito that he was still recovering from a few bruised ribs. But the pain only made Agito angrier. That's why it pissed him off so much that he couldn't tear into this braided bastard with a pair of ATs. He wanted to mark him with his fangs so badly it hurt more than the punches to his chest.

Once again he saw out of the corner of his eye that stupid ass nerf gun being aimed at him. If they thought that distraction would work a second time, they were dumber than they looked. He continued his charge, ignoring the goggle headed idiot, and charged his fist straight towards Nian's face. Something pricked his shoulder and he felt himself slow down. Nian caught his punch and instantly kneed him in the stomach. Agito coughed and stumbled backwards as Nian released his grip. He was getting tunnel vision and he instantly turned to look at the suction cup dart stuck to his shoulder. He grabbed it and pulled it off. A tiny needle was sticking out of the suction cup.

"Fucking…bastards," he groaned as he fell to the ground, dropping the poisoned dart and succumbing to some type of drug for the umpteenth time this week. The three boys in the room just stared at Agito as he lay there. Finally Gio broke the silence.

"What the hell! You're lucky I was here. I totally save your ass, Nian." Gio hopped back to his feet, dusting himself off and pocketing his not-quite nerf gun. He didn't really seem injured at all. Nian was aware of this.

"Was the floor that fucking comfortable you really didn't want to stand back up after the first hit?" Nian growled as he wiped his mouth and glared at Gio, then Agito.

"Dude. If I stood up, he'd come after me again. I'm not a dumbass." Gio laughed as he walked over to Agito and rolled him onto his back.

"Look how cute he is when he isn't trying to kill us." He said almost sweetly as he looked over the unconscious kid. He moved the eye patch over just in case the drug wore off too quickly. He wasn't hoping for a rematch anytime soon.

"Just take the damn thing downstairs. The customer is waiting." Nian was in no mood to play nice anymore as he continued to glare at Agito.

"Oh stop being such a baby. He only got you a few times. According to Kirin he…" Gio started but trailed off at the looks he was getting from the two blonde brothers.

"Fine captain sour pants. Be pouty." With that, Gio scooped up Akito and left the room.

"He really didn't get you that bad." Kirin said as he picked up a few broken decorations from their little tussle. Agito's strength was in his riding. Without ATs, he was just a kid who happened to be trained in defense and had a nasty kick. If anything, it was Nian's pride that had been wounded, not his actual body.

"It's over with tonight anyway. Glad that fucking bitch is finally out of our hair," Nian said with a bitter bite in his voice as he pulled out a cigarette.

"…Who bought him?" Kirin asked cautiously. Nian looked over his brother a moment. He exhaled a puff of smoke before replying.

"Mrs. Ebony Lycos," He said as his lips tugged into a tiny smirk.

"Lycos? … She … Nian. You sold Akito to a murderer." Kirin's gaze turned dark as he glared at his brother, but Nian merely shrugged.

"Nobody knows for sure what happens to the boys she buys. She wanted a pretty new toy, we had one, she liked him, she paid big money for him. She's rich. That scrawny kid will get to live a plush little life as long as she favors him." Nian took another drag of his cigarette, completely unphazed by the look Kirin was giving him. Kirin was disgusted. Ebony Lycos was a wealthy woman with no children of her own. In public she was wonderfully pleasant, but never invited people to her estate. Why would she? That was where she kept her 'pets'. She was a frequent visitor to this underground market and had an eye for those she thought were particularly pretty young boys. Sometimes a seller would ask her how a past 'item' was doing. Sometimes she'd respond with praises…sometimes she'd respond with 'who?'

"Everyone knows what happens to the things she buys. She has her way with her 'toys', then disposes of them when they break or if she gets bored. We never sold to her before. Even you used to have some morals," Kirin's hands bunched into fists as he yelled at his brother, but Nian still seemed indifferent. Kirin threw the remnants of the décor he had been clearing, letting them smash into even smaller pieces against the floor. Kirin was raging. He had promised Akito that at the least he would make sure someone safe bought him…then Nian went and sold him off to the insane.

"What's wrong with you Kirin? It was just one snot nosed little brat. Who cares what happens to that shit head?" Nian was finally growing annoyed with his younger sibling and turned to stare him down.

"That kid was someone's brother, Nian. He had family and you just sold him to the slaughter." This time Kirin didn't back down.

"Who cares if – " Nian didn't get a rebuttal.

"I care! What if it was me? What if I was the one you were handing over to that mental woman?" He growled back and at last Nian seemed hesitant. He paused for only a moment before he looked at Kirin evenly.

"It's not you, so it doesn't matter," he said calmly before leaving the room. Kirin could only watch as he was left alone.

* * *

**Kit: I'd love to hear your opinions on the story and characters. You must have something to say about them. For example, anyone here dislike Nian? **

**It's a much bigger motivator to read your opinions rather than just reading 'update please' over and over again. While I appreciate all reviews, the thing I love is reading reactions.**


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